Cursed Love
by Merely Corroborative Detail
Summary: Kyo and Yuki are rivals... right? They should hate each other... right? What happens when a boy cursed not to be loved becomes the sole desire of the heart of the one boy that should never love him?    -Kyo/Yuki SLASH, non-Tohru verse
1. Chapter 1

Yuki clenched his fist in rage, standing on the front porch of Shigure's house. Very seldom before had he felt such a horrid mix of shame, guilt, and unbearable anger. He would've given anything just then to make the rain stop so he could go off to his little garden and think things out, but it seemed God had decided otherwise, for it poured on obstinately, if calmly –there were no thunderclaps or lightning bolts or anything- and stubbornly prevented him from leaving the dry safety of the veranda.

Yuki was used to feeling ashamed of himself; he knew that familiar knot in his stomach was the very mechanism due which he managed to keep up the constant checking of his every move that gave him his cool, perfect exterior; yet this time the weight on his heart was a hundredfold than ever before. And mixed therein were rage and fury unparalleled, the kinds of which are only brought about by fear or love.

What had he done?

The day had started off very nice, school was perfect as always, an he'd come back as he was wont a few minutes before that stupid cat –they always went out of their way to take different roads back home, God, he _hated _that boy!-. Dinner had been fine as well, and Yuki had secretly grinned at how Kyo discovered, to his horror, that there were leeks in his dish, and he and Kyo, as well as Shigure, had pretty much kept out of each other's ways for the rest of the afternoon, what with their respective homework and writing to do.

But all the trouble started when, as he was solving an algebra problem, Yuki heard the running water of someone taking a bath downstairs. About ten minutes later, Shigure called him and his rival –or at least the person who considered himself his rival- downstairs for supper, and Yuki quickly discovered, in the following manner, that the person who had been taking a bath was Kyo:

He and Shigure were sitting at the dinner table, calmly waiting for the always-late cat-boy; and then, said cat-boy pulled aside the sliding door and entered, fully at ease, with water dripping from his hair and only a towel wrapped around his waist:

"Hey, Shigure," he asked casually "Are there any clothes left?"

"Hm…" said Shigure "I think my eye caught something laying around in your room, but I'm not sure."

Meanwhile, Yuki was glaring at Kyo with his usual cold, despising stare. Kyo's hair was even flatter now that it was wet and the drops of water calmly rolled, with one or another occasionally falling to the ground, down his neck and his body which, Yuki had to admit, stood testimony that if Kyo's training hadn't yet managed to help him defeat the rat-boy, it had at least very pleasantly toned his body.

Then, the Cat's fierce, vengeful, bitter, angry eyes turned away from Shigure and pinned their gaze on Yuki:

"What are you looking at, you damned rat?" Kyo asked, almost mockingly.

Yuki here managed to keep his outer demeanor of extreme indifference.

"Well, Kyo" he answered in a deadpan voice "Usually people get dressed _before _they get out of the bath. I know you probably aren't aware of this, what with your not being forced to look at it every day and such, but your half-naked body is by no means a sight for the dinner table."

"Say what?" Kyo said, a bit taken aback.

"For goodness' sake, Kyo," Yuki clarified "put some clothes on."

Kyo grinned.

"Yeah, right," he said, "As if you didn't like seeing me like this…"

His grin grew even more triumphant; obviously, the cat-boy was very satisfied at his jocular retort. But little did he suspect that he'd hit one of Yuki's very sensitive heart strings.

"What did you say?" aksed Yuki, getting up.

"I said," Kyo continued, clearly happy that he'd managed to get his rival mad "That you're more than happy to see me like this."

Then, Yuki snapped. And, before Kyo could even manage to pull together a halfway-decent block or Shigure could say something about how they shouldn't fight at the dinner table, he lunged at him with all his strength.

This time he wasn't just annoyed at Kyo for taunting him, or just letting out the steam of all his pent-up rage on the cat boy; this time Yuki didn't think, he didn't even hold back; he was feeling the same foolhardy rage he supposed Kyo always felt when he attacked him, only multiplied to a thousand: and with all the blood in his veins boiling, as if every ounce of hatred inside him since the very first day he'd met Kyo had suddenly lit up, he punched the cat-boy.

Kyo shouldn't have said that.

And he hit him so hard that he'd knocked Kyo unconscious.

Hatori of course was immediately called over to tend to the case, and Kyo's wound was properly taken care off.

But Yuki was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't spoken a word to the flabbergasted Shigure after the incident, and once he'd acquired reasonable cetainty that Kyo wouldn't die or anything, he'd left the

There was a reason Yuki was that angry; there was a reason the comment had so incised him; there was a reason why in the twinkling of an eye he'd lost all self-control and let himself become a beast:

Because what the cat boy had said was true:

Yuki was in love with Kyo.

It was already night, and the rain hadn't stopped. But Yuki finally thought "screw it," and went off to his garden anyways. He'd get wet, but God knew he preferred that to meeting anyone now. Already, with all the different emotions inside him, Yuki felt that looking into his own psyche, which he usually had under firm, sober control, was like talking to a dozen quarrelling, bickering people.

A dozen people who were all madly in love with Kyo Sohma…


	2. Chapter 2

After a very short walk in the rain, Yuki finally got to his garden. Everything was so familiar, yet so strange out here at this time: in the dark of the night, with the moon blocked off by the clouds and the rain pouring, he'd needed to get himself a flashlight to avoid tripping and falling into some ravine, and even when he'd gotten there he could barely recognise his own special place. But the smell of rain and forest was all around him, and it was, if nothing else, much more refreshing than the closed house with his two cousins.

_"Well, at least I won't have to water the plants tonight," _Yuki thought, as he sat beneath a tree to avoid the rain.

Then, he began to think of what he'd done; and he was overcome first and foremost by a tremendous sense of guilt: what would the family think of him now? Sure, most of the Sohmas' attitudes towards Kyo ranged from indifferent to downright hostile, and Akito just plain hated the boy's guts… but this was too far. Rumour would spread, scandal would be made… Not to mention there was no telling how Shigure would confront him when he'd finally come home; because he had to go back home, eventually… And of course, it was just not right to hit at people like that; he'd left someone unconscious! The composed, calm, collected, practically perfect Prince had hit his foe like he should never have hit everyone.

Then, he thought of Kyo lying on his bed in pain, and the guilt racking him quadrupled. How could he have done that to Kyo? He couldn't bare it: he hated Kyo so much, yet the mere thought of him so wounded filled him with sorrow.

For, alas, far more powerful than his disdain and disregard for Kyo was his love for him. Oh, he couldn't hide it from himself: he loved the Cat! He knew it was wrong, he knew it was disgusting, he knew it was vile, clichéd, stupid, he knew it all, but he loved his cousin with all his heart and every ounce of his soul.

He thought of all the times he'd fought with Kyo, and of all the times he'd beaten and insulted and belittled the cat-boy, forced to it by irritation, by the pressure of his surroundings, by the weight of his heritage, by the flagrant desire to prove to himself that he hadn't loved the Cat… or just by his own meanness.

For how horrible a person do you have to be to do what he'd done to the person you love?

These were Yuki's thoughts.

Kyo, meanwhile was lying in his bed, fuming with rage like never before. Despite the rain outside, he couldn't manage to get to sleep; and that was really something remarkable for him. He'd be okay, he'd been told he'd be fine and that he didn't need hospitalising but Hatori has still put him to bed for good measure… and if he fell asleep now, he'd probably be up by five AM…

But that was the least of his problems: as he lay upon his sleepless bed looking at the ceiling, Kyo thought about what Yuki had done to him. That bastard hurt him like that! I mean, sure, they'd gotten into a fight, but that was nasty; you really have to aim to leave someone unconscious with one blow. Kyo always lost and this had _never _happened to him. He'd always supposed Yuki would aim more at immobilising him rather than causing serious injury. What _had _made him go so rough on him? Probably he would've done the same thing to Yuki, he thought bitterly, but that would never have been the case: deep down, Kyo knew the Rat usually held back. In fact, he _always _held back...

And then Kyo's thoughts began to take another road: for, no matter how he put it to himself, it was true: Yuki always held back; and as today's incident demonstrated if Yuki ever decided he wanted to pound his bones to dust, he'd do it.

Kyo was just realising that every time they would fight, he was dependant on his worst enemy's mercy. He hated him so much, and he knew Yuki hated him maybe even more, and yet he knew that the fact was that if Yuki didn't mercifully hold back against him in fights at least once a day, he'd pretty much have been crippled for life by now.

"Yuki, you bastard!" Kyo muttered through his teeth.

Even at _this _Yuki was better than him. Not only was the Rat a better fighter, a better student and more popular; he was also a better person than him.

He was better at _everything._

Because it didn't matter why Yuki had gotten so angry at him, or where he was right now, whispered the cankerous worm of jealousy; it mattered that Yuki had the power to do things like this to him; and it mattered that, as Kyo knew all too well, even if on his good days and when training he always swore the opposite to himself, that no matter how much he tried, no matter how much he gave his every living moment to training against and every ounce of his soul to hating Yuki, Yuki would always win at everything without batting a sweat.

"That perfect son of a b—h!"

Downstairs, meanwhile, said perfect boy was back; and he'd made a very important decision:

He'd go apologise to Kyo.

Obviously, it had taken Yuki lot of internal debate to decide on this, but he'd finally convinced himself that it was by no means an amorous gesture. He was doing it, he thought to himself, to beg Kyo's pardon, because what he'd done to him he shouldn't have done, even if he was such a bitter enemy with Kyo.

But more than anything else, Kyo would never see him: Yuki scribbled an apology onto a piece of paper –it was a simple note, it only read "I'm sorry", and began to creep upstairs, trying his best not to wake any of the other two residents of the house. He figured Kyo would be asleep by now… It was raining, and Kyo slept well during the rain. So Yuki would just leave the letter there and let him read it when he woke up.

And as he imagined Kyo grumpily waking up next morning, and reading his apology -, Yuki hated himself. He hated himself because he should hate Kyo like Kyo hated him.

And he did hate him; but only because, no matter how much the cat despised him, Yuki could not manage to feel anything but a burning, raging, all consuming love for his fiercest foe.

He arrived at the door of the cat's room. How he would have loved to enter that room peacefully and not as an enemy spy! How many times had he past that door and wished he could go in and have a friendly chat, spend time not as lovers –he wasn't foolish enough to hope for that much, these kinds of thoughts had been tempered in Yuki- but even as friends or cousins?

But he couldn't; he was the cat's enemy. He sighed, and discreetly opened the door.

Kyo was alas still awake brooding at the deepest depths of misery at that point, because of all the reasons expounded before; so obviously he was startled by the door of his room opening.

He instantly turned his head in its direction, and saw a head peeking through the gap:

"Shigure?" he said, "Shigure, is that you?"

But his misjudgement was immediately rectified; for the visitor was his cousin Yuki.

Then, all the furor that had been building up inside him burst out with in one instant; and without waiting for an answer, or even an explanation as to the reason of Yuki's presence in his room, Kyo picked up a schoolbook he had laying on his night table and hurled it at him with all his strength.

"Get the f—k out of my room!" he cried at the befuddled Yuki.

And both he himself felt and Yuki heard that his voice was breaking.

Then Yuki did not answer; he simply turned away, went back down the stairs. But even if his face was silent, his heart was breaking.

Yuki tore up his apology note, and threw it away.

"_He doesn't deserve it,"_ he thought to himself, as his eyes teared up _"He doesn't deserve my love…"_

Yet his efforts to turn his sadness into rage were completely ineffectual: for all his heart longed to do was to run up to Kyo's room, hug him, and beg his pardon.

As for Kyo, as he fell asleep to the dropping rain, he would have been happy if there were _anyone _to hug him then.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning after was one of much awkwardness. Kyo had again assumed his habitual attitude of rage and hatred towards Yuki, but now it was of a far more bitter nature, so much that Yuki wished they could go back to beating each other. Kyo's reflections during the night had hardened his heart more than ever, and now, he didn't even talk to Yuki. He'd taken a great step, he thought to himself, he'd abandoned the idea of beating Yuki… now at least he could accept with destiny with grace, and start focusing on ways to pass time in his prison.

So now, he wouldn't challenge Yuki to fights; he wouldn't taunt him; he wouldn't even talk to him, and every time they so much as made eye contact, Kyo would turn away.

If only he had known how much the indelible hatred painted in his eyes pained Yuki... If only he'd known that each time he avoided Yuki's glance, he stabbed his cousin's fledgling love …

But neither was Yuki the same; for if he was in love, yet he was also proud, and after being thus spurned by Kyo, he told himself he would not, by any means, give in and be nice to him again. Whether he could keep that promise up was a different matter, but for now it seemed to work.

For his part, Shigure, over breakfast at least, seemed to have adopted the strategy of pretending nothing had happened the previous evening; or at least this was what he led on to. Yet as every one of his attempts to start nonchalant conversation was met by the stone wall of the two boy's silence, breakfast was eaten without a word today

"Obviously, you're not going to school today, Kyo," Shigure said "As Hatori said, you should rest, for safety."

Kyo simply nodded.

"And as for you, Yuki," said Shigure "You'd better get your books together… you'll be late for school.

"Oh," said Yuki, sombrely "Oh, yes, of course.."

And he did as he'd been told, and took his backpack and went to school, which seemed to him that day longer than a year without bread. He carried out all his actions in an almost mechanical fashion, and, though he was always curt to everyone, it seemed, from their whispers, that even some of the students had noticed his bitter disposition; most notably members of his fan club.

But right now all these social concerns, which on a normal day he'd have diligently tended to, seemed like trifles, even if when he got back home he was instantly wishing he was still at school.

As he pushed open the front door and neatly took off his shoes –he saw that Kyo's shoes were still in the same, sloppy disarray he'd left them the previous day coming back from school- he noticed that the living room was empty. From what he gathered, Shigure was out, and Kyo was upstairs in his own room, though Yuki dared not go and check.

The Rat took a glass of water, and went up to his room to work on his homework, and it was only about an hour later that he heard the soft but discernible opening of the front door.

"Yuki, Kyo," he heard Shigure's voice call "Come down here, we need to talk."

Yuki closed his textbook and made his way downstairs to the living room. There, he found Shigure putting away his overcoat.

"Yuki," he said noticing him "Sit down, this is important.

Immediately, his elder cousin's serious demeanour struck Yuki. This was in sharp contrast with how he'd been acting earlier in the morning, or how he acted in general. Of course… being the good dramatist he was, Shigure had dissimulated everything during the morning only to confront him on the previous night's events right now.

Kyo came down and sat down as far away from Yuki as he could; he was still giving the Rat the silent treatment, and it was working even better now.

When he saw that both his wards were sitting down comfortably, Shigure advanced to the centre of the room:

"Kyo; Yuki," he said in a surprisingly serious tone "I was at the Central Sohma House today. Akito was informed by Hatori of our little episode yesterday, and that's why he called me over."

Here both Kyo and Yuki braced themselves; Shigure being serious was already a bad enough sign, and Akito taking _any _decisions usually resulted in someone getting hurt.

"We talked about it for most of the day –I hope you managed to survive alone here Kyo- and after a mature discussion, we came to the following conclusion: you two can't possibly keep on living in the same house… It's not doing anybody any good."

"And?" said Kyo, impatiently.

"And," said Shigure "Akito decided that Kyo is going to be sent off to an all-male boarding school… in England."

The two boys were flabbergasted:

"What?" they exclaimed, in unison. Yuki's blood ran cold at the thought that Kyo would be sent away, and he could only imagine from the distressed look on Kyo's eyes how much _he _felt about it.

"There's no use in fussing over it, believe me," said Shigure "I did the best I could to defend both your interests, and of course Akito had already spoken with Kyo's father before he called me over: it's decided."

This was ridiculous! Yuki could barely bring himself to speak, and Kyo even less.

"When… when is he leaving?" Yuki finally asked, being the first to wrangle off the shackles of awkwardness –naturally, of course, since he wasn't the one leaving.

"In one month," Shigure declared; then he turned to Kyo, who was still recovering from the shock, and tried to insert some levity into the situation:

"Hey, cheer up: you'll get to see England!"

Kyo, at this, got up, and in a very typical of him fashion, stormed off to his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Kyo was waiting at the train station, impatiently clutching his backpack; there weren't many people around, and he'd come here directly from school. It'd been three days now since Shigure had broken the news of his impending departure for England, and he wasn't even within sight of coming to terms with the idea.

How could this be happening to him? Just when he thought his life couldn't possibly get any worse, just when he'd come to terms with having hit rock bottom, this came along and happened! He'd tried to think of the positive side; he'd tried to think that he'd be away from the damned Rat, and for that matter the whole damned Zodiac Circle, that he'd get to make new friends, see new sceneries, train in new mountains… heck, he'd even have the opportunity to run away, maybe never see the Jyunishi again, but he knew it was all just a smokescreen. For the last part, he could be sure he'd be back no matter what, Akito could have him tracked down if he fled to the moon… You'd think was already messed-up enough as it was… And he didn't even have anyone to talk to! Though this last problem, it seemed, at least, was going to be solved briefly:

Kyo was so deep in thought that he was almost startled when he heard the sleek train arrive; he looked up, and sure enough, there it was, coming to a complete halt. And as its electric doors opened, he carefully scanned all the passengers for the person he was waiting for:

Seeing him, it seemed, at that exact moment, there was Kazuma Sohma getting off the train.

He greeted Kyo with a raise of the hand and that familiar smile, and Kyo, throwing his backpack around his back, ran towards him, and gave him a much more effusive welcome.

"How was your trip, sensei?" Kyo asked, after they were done with the salutations with a politeness and even sympathy in his voice that was unheard of when he talked to anyone else.

"It was comfortable, no complications," his master answered curtly "I'm going to leave pretty soon today, I've got business, but I'll be back within the month. You won't leave without seeing me for a longer period of time at least once, that I promise."

"Nice," said Kyo.

"Yes," said Kazuma.

There was an awkward silence; then Kyo took on a much more serious voice:

"Hey, sensei," he said "I'm sorry for bringing you over here, it's just that, well… you know what they're going to do with me, I'm going off to England in a month, and… and I've really got to talk about it to someone…

"I understand, Kyo," said Kazuma "Should we take a walk around the block while you tell me about it?"

"Yeah," said Kyo "Yeah, I guess we should.

And the duo began walking out of the train station. Kyo, it seemed, was beginning to get a little more incensed.

"You know why that bastard Akito did this, don't you?" he said to Kazuma.

"Kyo, please don't talk that way about Akito…"

"Yeah, right," said Kyo "You're not the one being sent off to England… But I know why he'd doing this, I've figured out, and trust me, you'll call him names when I explain it to you too. I haven't got much time left until I come of age and I have to go" –here he shuddered- "where all those cursed with the spirit of the Cat go; that far you know. And you also know, I've told you the secret, that I've got a 'bet' –if you can call that a bet, I'm sure _he _can- that if I beat Yuki before I reach the age where I get imprisoned he'll set me free. Now, I'm already sixteen, so my time is running short, and think about it: how the f—k am I supposed to beat Yuki from England?"

Kazuma at first didn't know what to answer:

"Oh come on, Kyo," he said "You can't honestly believe that's true."

"We both know who Akito is, Kazuma," Kyo said coldly.

"Well, yes," said Kazuma "But wasting so much money, going through so much trouble only to be mean to you… It doesn't feel alright."

"Akito isn't alright, Kazuma," Kyo said "And I'm sure this is why he's doing it. He's got more than enough money, and all he needed was a good excuse. And even if what I'm saying isn't true, that's what the result's going to be!"

"Come on, Kyo," said Kazuma "You can come back for summer, you can wait for the end of the year..."

"You really think he's going to allow that?" Kyo exclaimed "He wants me to suffer, and he's got the whole family at his beck and call supporting him. D—m! If I was with him now… If I could just have him in my hands for one minute, I'd tell him a thing or two, and I'd teach him to be such a sadistic son of a…"

"Kyo," said Kazuma "Kyo, I told you, don't talk that way."

But Kyo was on a roll now, and there was no stopping.

"And of course, you know the story, you know who else is to blame: that damned rat! Yeah, that's right, it's all his fault! If he hit me like that, none of this would've happened. That's right! I get knocked out by him, and I get punished for it! Kazuma, does Fate really just hate me that much? Why can't Yuki leave home? Why can't Yuki go to England? I hate that Rat… I just hate him so much!"

"Kyo, please," said Kazuma "I'd never say this in front of any of the other family members, but if with Akito you were right about insulting him, with Yuki you aren't. I know Yuki, and I'm sure he never meant for this to happen. And don't insult him, because you have no idea what's in _his _personal life."

"Does it involve lifetime imprisonment?" said Kyo "Because if it doesn't, I don't think that pretty boy holds a candle!"

"He doesn't know you've got a bet with Akito going on… how could he, you're sworn to secrecy?"

"Stop it, sensei!" Kyo cried "Stop it, stop trying to justify them: I'm at war with the world all alone!"

"Kyo," Kazuma said in a firm, but tender voice "You're not alone."

Kyo looked up at him; and Kazuma, to his own surprise, read in the boy's usually fiery, raging eyes an emotion he'd seldom seen there: Kyo was almost trembling with terror.

"I don't want to be locked up, sensei," he said in a low, sad voice "I've got nobody… nobody!"

His Master didn't answer. But, like a father, knowing what Kyo needed better than Kyo himself and faster than he could react he hugged him tight. Kyo hugged him back, and rested his head on his old teacher's shoulder; and even though both of them pretended not to notice, Kazuma felt a wet tear through his clothes

Meanwhile, back at home, Yuki wasn't much happier. Just as Kyo had been overcome with fear, so he himself had been overcome with a great guilt. Sure his vanity and feelings had been hurt by every one of Kyo's reactions; sure, the incident on the first night where he'd gone up to apologise still weighed heavy on his heart, and he couldn't help but feel spiteful and cruel towards Kyo, just as Kyo was spiteful and cruel towards him.. But, after all, wasn't Kyo right in all his recriminations and grudges against him? And even if he wasn't, even if the Cat had raised against him the most unjustified enmity, how could he possibly hate that beautiful face, those sombre eyes and that poor, tortured soul they felt?

Guilt, that was it… guilt was the feeling that overrode Yuki's every thought. And the feeling grew ever stronger and stronger inside him, like a basket of stones in his heart, to which a new rock was added every day, until he couldn't possibly bear the weight anymore.

But it was not guilt… it was also that much more tender and soft feeling that takes hold at times of the hearts of men known as love.

Yuki wasn't going to let this be. He would do something to keep Kyo safe at home…Safe, he dared even to think, close to him. And in point of fact, he had an idea, though Lord knew it wouldn't be pleasant for him.

"Shigure," said Yuki, putting on a jacket "Do you… do you hold anything against me for doing what I did to Kyo?"

His guardian raised his head from the newspaper he was reading.

"Tormented by the anguish dread of falsehood unatoned, much?" said Shigure with good humour.

"Shigure please, I'm very serious," said Yuki "I'm about to do something very important."

"May I be permitted to know what?"

"You'll know if I do it…"

At this, Shigure's tone became grave.

"I'm not one to judge, Yuki," said he "The relationship between you two is not something I could possibly fathom, and neither are Akito's decisions, and it's true that he isn't at all innocent against you. But it's also true that if you done that to Kyo, he wouldn't be going off to England soon… not to mention, of course, he wouldn't have gotten knocked out

Understandably, this last phrase was spoken with a lighter tone.

"Thanks, Shigure," said Yuki, and he went to the door. Then, when he was about to exit, he turned back around.

"Do you think one should do anything for love?"

Shigure raised an eyebrow:

"Are you sure you're not fighting over some girl with your cousin, Yuki?" he said.

"Shigure, please…" said Yuki.

"Okay, the," said Shigure "Yes, I do. I honestly do."

Yuki looked at him, and couldn't managed to discern any traces of sarcasm in his face:

"Thank you," he then said, and he left the house.


	5. Chapter 5

When Yuki arrived at the gates of the main Sohma Estate, it was already quite late in the afternoon. It had been a pleasant trip, the kind you have on one of those cool, frisky days of mid-September that seem to be there just to herald the upcoming autumn. But as he stood before the imposing gatehouse of the vast precinct, Yuki was sure his day wouldn't stay pleasant for long.

As he went in, he shuddered: this place never failed to bring back unpleasant sensations, and strike dusty chords he'd much rather have forgotten in the depths of his heart. One wouldn't think of this upon visiting the Estate: it was a vast, sumptuous complex of gardens, ponds, roads and exquisitely decorated Japanese pavilions, and everything was placed in harmonious accordance to everything else, creating a distinctly oriental feeling of sublime peace. Yet to Yuki, these domains brought to mind nothing more than his days of suffering at the hands of the cruel Akito, and the childhood tears of his long years of all-but-nominal captivity seemed about to flow back to his eyes.

Yuki could yet again not understand why on earth Kyo wanted to be one of the twelve…

But the Estate was still a pretty place; Yuki remembered he'd liked autumn the most, because, somehow, it made everything look prettier. Far East architecture is indeed calm and soothing, better suited for the mild seasons of fall and spring, and seems a bit out of place in the harshness of winter or brilliance of summer.

And so with this happy thought Yuki continued forth. After all, he thought to himself, he had to; this was the only way he could think of to keep Kyo.

It crossed his mind that maybe it might have been better to confess his love to Kyo, but he quickly erased it, embarrassed even at the thought.

Why did love have to be so painful?

He very easily found the pavilion in which Akito usually stayed:

"Is Akito here?" he curtly asked a servant.

The servant acquiesced, and in a few minutes Yuki had been announced, and after climbing some stairs he'd arrived in the dark, familiar study, tastefully decorated with a few doubtlessly priceless Japanese antiques, and in which Akito spent most of his time these days.

And sure enough, there, at the end of the room, pale faced, pitch-black haired and sitting at his desk in a kimono of finest silk, was Akito Sohma, head of the entire Sohma clan.

"Welcome, Yuki," said Akito, in his calm, almost taunting voice.

Yuki's heart clenched as he gave a slight bow.

"What do you want?" said Akito "I'm busy, I don't have all day."

At this imperative tone, Yuki felt his courage falter; he only barely managed to mutter the words:

"I… I heard you're sending Kyo to England."

"I gathered you'd know as much," said Akito, still emotionless "I had it announced to you."

"Is the decision… final?" Yuki ventured to enquire.

"Did I announce anything different and not notice it?" said Akito.

"No, I just…"

"You just what? Were you sent here to confirm what I said before?" said Akito "I know you're one of the Twelve, but that doesn't mean you can just barge in and out of my study without anything to tell me."

This visibly wasn't going anywhere: Yuki was terrified of Akito, and even more terrified of the proposition he was going to make to Akito; but then, he thought of Kyo. And the memory of the boy he'd hated so much and loved even more gave him courage to speak, before his tyrant:

"I have a proposition to make," he said finally "You said that you were taking Kyo away so that I wouldn't be together with him anymore, because we couldn't live together."

"Yes," said Akito "And this conversation still isn't going anywhere…"

"Well," said Yuki "I have another solution… what if I left the house?"

"Left the house?" said Akito "Shigure's house, you mean? And pray, where would you go if you left the house?"

Here Yuki's heart faltered, but not for long; he was determined:

"Here," he said in a tone as firm as he could "Right here… If you allow Kyo to stay in Japan, at Shigure's house, I'll come back and live here with you."


	6. Chapter 6

This was it; the deed was done. Barely able to believe himself, Yuki had finally proposed to Akito what he'd been thinking: he'd offered to come back to the central Sohma residence instead of Kyo leaving for England. And now, terrified, his heart beating at a thousand paces, Yuki awaited the answer.

Akito at first seemed a bit surprised and even, Yuki dared to think, interested by the proposal; at any rate, his face seemed startled. But any such imperssion would soon be blown away.

"Do you really mean that, Yuki?" asked Akito.

"Yes," said Yuki "Yes I do."

"Well, I'm flattered," said Akito "I never thought you enjoyed it here so much. Might I enquire as to _why _you wish to come back?"

"Don't toy with me Akito," said Yuki "I have my own reasons… Will it be yes or no?"

Then, Akito took on a faux apologetic look, and with a voice so ironic that it almost made you believe he was sorry, he answered:

"Yuki, I'm very sorry, but I can't do that."

At the uttering of these words, Yuki almost felt his heart break.

"What? But…"

"Yuki," Akito interrupted "I decided that Kyo was going to go to England, and I never indicated that I'd willingly hear objections that. In the same way, when I decided you were going to leave, I did not consider it optional…"

"But Akito," Yuki said, his desperation discernible through his voice "Akito, please, I…"

"Yuki, my decisions are final; you should know this by now."

"But I…"

"Yuki, I'm very busy, so unless you have something else to say to me, go away. Now tell me: do you?"

Yuki regained his composure, and, knowing Akito as he did, recognised the lost battle and said:

"No, Akito."

"Very well then," Akito said "Good evening."

"Good evening," said Yuki, and again with a respectful bow he exited the room.

Yet inside him, he was feeling anything but respect. Why would Akito do this? Why would Akito reject his sacrifice? Yuki, even though he'd felt the anxiety linked with any great decision, had nonetheless been quite sure that Akito would gloatingly have him back, licking his lips like a bloodthirsty tiger having cornered its prey, and now he couldn't imagine why it hadn't been that way, and his heart was filled with confusion.

But even so, one feeling superseded his confusion: and that was his hatred: and of the hatred a lot for Akito, obviously, but even more for himself: he'd failed; he wasn't going to live at the Sohma house again, and he should be happy for it, but he was miserable. Kyo would leave… Kyo would leave despite his best effort. Of course, it had been a lose-lose situation, he would've lost either his liberty or his love, but…

_"What a cruel person I am!"_ Yuki thought himself. This wasn't love! If he considered trying to free his lover a loss, then he was worthy of any misfortune befalling him.

For Heaven's sake, he'd barely even tried... he and Akito had exchanged, what, ten sentences? This was ridiculous! He had to go back.

And he did: the moment he exited came to the gateway of the Sohma mansion, Yuki turned around. He'd face Akito; he'd beg him, he'd promise him, he'd even threaten him, though he wasn't sure if that would help much, but anyway, he'd do anything before he let Kyo leave. It was final: Yuki was going back.

Yet as he was going down the classical wooden hallway to the door of Akito's study, and as he was about to burst into the room –or at least the closest one can get to bursting into rooms with sliding doors, this is Japan and everything was calculated to be calm- he heard a voice inside.

He would have gone in anyway, but when he recognised the voice, he stopped in silence:

"Akito, you bastard!" it said "You _know _this is cheating!"

And Akito answered, cool as ever:

"Kyo, you should really be more respectful to your elders."

Then, Yuki's heart jolted: his love was in there. It was improbable, but not impossible, that they'd both come without crossing each other –the Sohma Estate was huge-, and it seemed something like this had happened. And at any rate, justification of their situation was not his main concern right now: Kyo was inside talking with Akito.

"You cheated me, Akito!" said Kyo, furiously "You cheated me and you know it!"

"Kyo, do you want me to have you escorted out? And besides, I really don't see how I am cheating you."

"You know we had a bet?" said Kyo.

"Yes," said Akito.

"You know, you promised yourself that if I beat Yuki you'd raise my sentence to imprisonment for life for being cursed by the Cat."

"I did," said Akito.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to beat Yuki and win my freedom if I'm on the other side of the world?"

Here Yuki's heart almost stopped.

"I'll be gone in a month," Kyo continued, his voice now with traces of breaking "And God knows when or if I'll be back before my time runs out."

"Well then," said Akito, his voice dripping with cruelty "You'd better get around to beating him before you leave…"

And Yuki could practically see the evil of his voice. But right now this was the lattermost of his concerns… He'd just learned something he never, never would have guessed: Kyo had bet his freedom on beating him. In a few seconds, a plethora of explanations and clarifications and illuminations on behaviours and words of Kyo's which had thitherto seemed to him random and even insane came gushing into his mind, and suddenly he was tossed into a sea of confusion.


	7. Chapter 7

After hearing this, Yuki did not stay in the grand Sohma house any longer.

But while he left, he obviously made some reassessments: Of course, he'd known that the cat was condemned to imprisonment, but he never knew that Akito had made a bet with him. Now he understood a great many things: now Kyo's rage was not only explained, but even justified, and Yuki saw that every ounce of Kyo's hatred, every insult and punch and raillery was nothing more than desperation and black misery that Akito had turned into furor against Yuki, pitting him and Kyo against each other for his own cruel pleasure.

And any grudge still held by Yuki against his poor, tormented love Kyo was drowned and torn to pieces by the great flood of explanations which inundated his mind. Yet this revelatory tidal wave brought with it no peace, for now Yuki's soul was as a small ship tossed into a vast tempest, at every moment prey to the immense waves of doubt and torment, ready to sink.

"Did you get that girl?" Shigure asked when he saw Yuki came back.

Yuki didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a no," said Shigure.

But Yuki still didn't rejoin, and in accordance with his nautical metaphor went upstairs to take a bath. Then, he took his clothes off and filling the tub with hot water slowly submerged his tired, body into the shallow water, hoping to wash away his troubles in the hypnotising heat of the bath.

And sure enough, as he closed his eyes, he felt every trouble of his soul dissolve, and the storm clouds in his mind were whisked away, so that finally the ship of his soul saw the lighthouse that would guide it to port.

The plan he thought of was pretty simple, and he was surprised he'd thought of it so quickly, but he would apply it. Kyo would be happy, and he would be happy in more than one way.

A few days later, Kyo was coming back from school, and thinking of a thousand different things.

Of course this didn't mean he wasn't going to leave for England. Kyo, just like anyone else, knew that once Akito made a decision, it was deemed as infallible as a Papal decree.

Kyo still hadn't become used to the idea. England… oh God, he'd be all alone. Heck, he barely even spoke English. Of course, an all-boys school couldn't be that bad, he'd always preferred male company over female –maybe Kagura had something to do with this- and he could make friends and everything, but when he came back… Not to mention that he'd still, technically, be all alone. He didn't usually have trouble with that kind of stuff, but making friendships in a place where boys had for all practical purposes lived together since childhood wouldn't be an easy task.

Still, he consoled himself, he'd manage; it would be better than Kaibara… besides, if anybody did try to mess with him he could probably beat them to the pulp, and to be truthful, anything was better as far away as possible from the Jyunishi. There would be boyish camaraderie, and whatnot; he'd read that in book.

But in any case, Kyo thought, wasn't he alone here in Japan too? Sure, he was surrounded, but did anyone really care about him? There was Shigure, who let him live in his house, and he guessed that was good…

There was Kagura, but he'd rather if she hated him, because really all her love just humiliated him the more… I mean, what kind of a martial artist can't get a girl off his back?

And then he had Kazuma, and he loved Kazuma very much, but, even though he never told it to himself, he knew he was little more than Kazuma's guilt trip; sometimes, in the gentle words of his sensei, he saw that for all his devotion he loved in truth not _him _but his dead grandfather. But he shouldn't think these things… Kazuma was good to him, which was more than you could say for anybody else. But he loved him like a parent, and even though in its own realm the love of a parent is far superior to any other love imaginable, it… it just doesn't always suffice.

Not to mention that for all the ruckus that was made of it, Kazuma was _not _his real father… and he didn't even want to start with real fathers.

But Kyo didn't think about that, he was already depressed enough as things were.

It's a sad time when thinking about one's real father makes one even sadder.

I mean, heck, his own father didn't even love him… what could Kyo possibly expect for life?

Maybe he'd find someone in England, Kyo then began to think in an astoundingly optimistic streak. Maybe there would be some boy, some other tormented soul that he could share his pains with, a taciturn, cool roommate with which he could relate, someone with whom he'd become an inseparable friends. Maybe people in Europe were nicer –though he strongly doubted it- and he'd find there a brother the kind of which he'd never had, some that could finally stand by him in his dark, lonely misery.

Oh, God, he needed someone that loved him… _Anyone! _

As Kyo thought these thoughts, he arrived at the entrance of Shigure's house.

But standing on the front porch was someone he'd never expected to see greeting him.


	8. Chapter 8

"Yuki?" asked Kyo in amazement, upon arriving to the house "What the _heck _are you doing here?"

And he was well justified in this remark; for before him, imposing, decided, and most surprising of all, shirtless, was standing his cousin Yuki.

"And for Heaven's sake," Kyo continued "Put a shirt on!"

Yuki didn't answer. He was in a very serious state, and he'd been preparing for this some time now; he'd told himself a great many things, and brought reasons in his head for and against what he was about to do. True, he'd decided upon it very fast, but he didn't execute his decision right then, for almost immediately doubt had started creeping into his head: what would happen if he carried out his plan? How would the family react? How would Kyo react? Would it be obvious? And even if he succeeded, what shame it would bring upon him! He wanted to consult someone, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone; he'd considered asking Ayame, but… no, he couldn't trust his brother with such information.

And Shigure? Shigure, he'd asked, though in a covert way; he'd repeated the question he'd asked the Dog when he'd gone over to visit Akito:

"Do you still think it's worth doing anything for love?"

And Shigure had answered:

"My dear boy, you really are torn… but yes, I still do."

Yet even now, even now that he'd decided what he was going to do, his soul still shook, and though his loving heart pushed him on, yet his cold mind tried to stop him. But nonetheless, Yuki took a deep breath, and reminded himself of his own decision:

The gust blew through his hair, as the sun's light began slowly to dim in preparation for sunset:

"Kyo," said Yuki then "Get ready… let's do battle."

Kyo looked at him, estranged:

"What?"

"We haven't fought since I hit you last time," said Yuki "And I'm worried you'll get grand ideas that you can beat me because you're out of your routine of getting hit on a regular basis…"

He meant none of it; but how else to hide exceeding love but with overblown hatred?

"So…"

"What you heard, Kyo," said Yuki "I challenge you to a battle."

Kyo didn't answer immediately.

"You're going to leave in a month," said Yuki "And you always keep bragging about how you're going to beat me… well, here's your chance: do it!"

Then, Kyo thought a bit. This was certainly a surprise; yet slowly, the air of surprise faded off his face and turned to a grin; and, tearing off his own shirt, not to be outdone by Yuki's charming figure –good God, was he even thinking this?-, Kyo cried:

"Bring it on, Rat-boy!"

And Yuki, though he didn't show it, was happy; because now, he was going to set Kyo free.


	9. Chapter 9

This was it; it was now or never! Without much warning, Kyo was going to fight Yuki again!

At first he'd been a bit stunned by the offer, but quickly he began to feel that familiar rush of adrenaline, and in no time he was in ship-shape condition to do battle with the rat; he felt as good and as energetic as ever, and perhaps even better because of all the time they'd gone without fighting.

"Bring it on, Yuki!" he cried again, and they began to fight.

Yuki was formidable as always, blocking blow after blow from Kyo while the latter slowly gained ground. He'd throw kicks and punches in a vicious flurry, aiming for every part of Yuki's body and hoping to tire down the rat-boy, and praying to hit him with even one of those blows.

_"I can see it,"_ Kyo thought to himself, as he fought on _"He's growing weak… Now I've got to concentrate! I've got to keep my cool! This is the turning point. "_

It was true. But it always happened like this: Kyo always fiercely tried to gain advantage, and he always almost succeeded… Even if whenever he got the upper hand, even for a split second, Yuki would knock him out with a brilliant coup-de-grace.

But this time was different.

The deciding moment was close, Kyo could feel it, and he could see that so could Yuki.

"_Any second now," _Kyo thought to himself _"Brace yourself… he's going to try it, he's going to do it… but this time you're going to be strong!"_

Yuki always won around this point. But not today; not this time: all of Kyo's senses were heightened, all his mind was alert, his very soul was on guard

_This time was different!_

And just here Yuki attempted to deliver his usual high kick.

But, wonder of wonders, Kyo saw it coming, and with reflex worthy of his feline ancestry, blocked it.

And then with a majestic blow to the chin he knocked Yuki to the ground.

Now, for the first few seconds after this, Kyo was in a sort of trance. He couldn't bring himself to believe what had just happened, he couldn't fathom the situation, and his senses felt like they would in a dream, as if they'd gone forth and left his soul behind.

But slowly he re-synched with reality, and he began to grasp what had just happened:

He'd defeated Yuki.

And that was sweeter than any dream he'd ever imagined. It was the apex, the zenith final completion of the one goal he'd always fought for but never, in the depths of his soul, believed he would accomplish.

He looked down at his fallen foe, and then at the sky, and with a smile sincere and pure like he'd not had in years, he shouted for victory, letting out the overflowing, bursting joy of his heart; and a thousand flowers bloomed and honey trickled from his lips as he cried:

"I beat Yuki!"

And meanwhile, Yuki lay on the ground, vanquished, and defeated. He'd dishonoured himself; he'd lost his supremacy; he'd been bested by his foulest foe.

But he was happy. Because –apart from the fact that Kyo looked really good like that- by slowing down his final blow by only a portion of a second, Yuki had managed to convincingly loose the battle, and to keep his lover free.

For now, by Yuki's artifice, Kyo had won his bet; and it seemed he would be set free.

Yet the author would like to put some emphasis on the words "it seemed"…


	10. Chapter 10

For the next few days, Kyo was in a perpetual attitude of victory celebration. He was very happy, and it showed; he was even a bit nicer –to a certain measure, of course: this is Kyo we're talking about and everything is relative-. There was always a triumphant smile on his face, and he wouldn't miss one occasion of pointing out to Yuki –despite the fact that none of the two asked for a rematch- how:

"I kicked your sorry Rat's a—!"

Yuki didn't know what to think; it was a bit tiring, and he couldn't tell anyone a word about anything; not to mention he'd never acted like this when he won… but then again, he won every day. And besides, on the whole, he was more than happy to see Kyo happy, and he bore every attack with the calm and, indeed, joy at the strengthening of Kyo's will that only a mother or a lover could have pulled off.

Because Kyo was indeed happy, happier than anyone ever remembered seeing him.

Shigure, for his part, when first confronted with the news of Kyo's victory barely believed it, and found it quite difficult to rationalise the events, even though he was more than happy that they'd stopped fighting and consequently destroying his house; the conclusion he finally came to –because he couldn't possibly admit ignorance- was that Kyo's pent up anger at the injury inflicted on him by Yuki's countless victories had finally been set free during this one battle and that was what had brought about the cat's unexpected success.

"It's natural, really," Shigure would say.

But of course, this was not all: news of said victory quickly spread around the Sohma family. People reacted in very different ways, from mild indifference to utter discombobulation, and it was such an event that the fact that Kyo was still going to leave within a month was all but forgotten. In fact, it was barely even brought up until, a few days after, Shigure's house received a visit:

"Kagura! Hatsuharu!" said Shigure upon opening the door to the two cousins "What a pleasant surprise to see you two here!"

Upon hearing the mention of Kagura's name, Kyo cringed slightly. But then again, he was still in such a happy nirvana, still so utterly ecstatic that he even thought to himself:

_"Hey, it's been a long time since I've seen her… Might as well humour the poor girl, it won't hurt anyone!"_

The reader may see at what point the victory had lifted Kyo's spirits.

And the two cousins entered:

"Oh my God, Kyo," squealed Kagura "Congratulations for winning, I'm so happy for you… this must be the best day of your life!"

"Hi," said Hatsuharu.

And they had a seat, along with Shigure and Yuki; now, the conversation went very smoothly, and as Shigure never once thought that "he should leave the youngsters to sort out their own affairs" they weren't alone, so there wasn't even any fighting, which was something very odd at a get-together of any number of Sohma family members:

"So, how's school going?" Hatsuharu asked Kyo.

"Meh… good, I guess," Kyo answered.

"I'm going to miss you so much when you go off to England!" said Kagura.

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll be back," Kyo said, and he even managed to force a smile. Wow… a smile, so easily.

Yuki didn't speak.

_"Well, he's going to England," _he thought _"I'd almost forgotten that… though I guess that if I managed to free him from his imprisonment, and avoid losing him for life, I shouldn't be sad about losing him for a year."_

But then, suddenly, someone brought up a subject that threatened Yuki's interests in a more direct, not to mention immediate fashion; and that someone was none other than Hatsuharu.

"Kyo," he said, calmly as ever "Are you absolutely sure you won the fight fair and square?"

Here Kyo got a bit piqued.

"What do you mean?" he said, not without a tinge of hostility.

"Well," said Hatsuharu "We can't deny that it's very, very surprising that you managed to defeat Yuki, and on such short notice before you left, too…"

"I put all my efforts to beat him _because _I was going to leave in a month… well, three weeks now… what do you want?"

"Look, Kyo, I might not be incredibly bright but this is a bit fishy… I mean, there were no witnesses!"

He was going to continue, but here Yuki interjected:

"He beat me Haru," he said bluntly "What else do you want, can you think of any reason I'd lie about this?"

He didn't let much of it pass, but the inner thoughts of the Rat were however at this point:

_"What the hell does Haru think he's doing?"_

"Oh come on," said Kagura "Don't you doubt my Kyonkyonchi… you could beat Yuki and Hatsuharu any day…you could even beat them together. Isn't that right?"

"Well," said Kyo "I am pretty awesome…"

"Are you sure there wasn't something wrong with Yuki that day?" Hatsuharu asked "Maybe something he'd eaten?"

Hatsuharu here, to be honest, meant absolutely no harm towards Yuki or Kyo, and was with a very pure heart inquiring as to the reason of this, the reader won't object, quite remarkable change of the balance of power; not to mention, as the reader will know, Hatsuharu had a special affection towards Yuki and thus was interested in protecting his interests.

Though of course, this stern objection on part of the Rat aroused not a little suspicion.

"Look, if you've got any doubts about how tough Kyo is, you can fight him yourself," said Yuki.

"Well," said Hatsuharu "Maybe I will…"

And then Hatsuharu went black, and they got into a fight, and they kept on kicking and punching each other until Kagura separated them by tackling Kyo herself, and the evening generally ended in a rather typical fashion with them tearing down at least one of Shigure's walls.

But eventually they made up: and as the visit drew to a close, and the cousins prepared to leave, Hatsuharu managed to get Yuki alone in a corner, and whisper to him the following words of caution:

"Look, Yuki, I don't know what's going on with you and Kyo," he said. "I'm willing to believe he won fair and square. It doesn't make much sense to me, but it's none of my business. But I thought you should know that Akito won't be as easy to convince as I was."

"Akito?" said Yuki "What do you mean?"

"You know he doesn't like people messing up with his plans… and his plans obviously included you beating Kyo. Notice that he hasn't even talked to you about this yet, and I'll bet he hasn't talked to Kyo either. Word's gotten out that he's not happy with all this."

"Oh… I see…"

"I'm not threatening you, Yuki. I just thought you'd know… I like you, don't forget that; I'm on your side."

"Th…thanks Haru."

"No problem."

And Hatsuharu left, along with Kagura, and they all had a good night.

By the by, it was true that Akito hadn't contacted Kyo yet on the victory.

That night, Yuki reflected upon what Hatsuharu had told him; but more than that, he reflected upon Kyo's imminent departure. And he realised that, even if he had done Kyo a much greater service than he originally had planned upon, he still hadn't gotten what he wanted: Kyo would still leave in less than three weeks.

Not to mention that Akito was now on Yuki's heels. Though, again, he couldn't blame the head of the Sohma clan for it: Yuki had gone to practically beg him for Kyo to remain in Japan, and then this had happened… The Rat sadly realised that, unless Akito were a thoroughly confounded idiot, which he wasn't –Akito had a lot of qualities, many of them negative, but none of them included stupidity-, he surely would have gotten very suspicious of all and any goings on between him and Kyo.

Heavens! Just when he thought he'd suceeded in doing something right, he had to deal with yet another problem... not to mention that, yet again, he had to do it alone; and he indeed felt very lonely.

He knew he should just be happy that he'd freed Kyo; he felt mean and selfish for _not _being happy! Yet now, despite his best intentions, with little more valid reason than a childish impatience that couldn't wait a year for the object of its desire and a few whispered words from Hatsuharu, all he could think was:

"_Oh God... __What've I gotten myself into?"_

This was insane! Now he was going to lose his lover _and _have to fend off Akito all by himself… oh, if only, if only he had an ally to confide in!


	11. Chapter 11

Ayame was sitting in his workshop along with Mine, putting the final touches on some absurd dress of his a few minutes before the closing of his shop. Or rather, he was overseeing Mine putting said last touches on the dress... Around the small table they worked on were piles upon piles of messy fabrics and strings and buttons and whatnot, and it had been a slow day, so the pair was at their leisure to make the dress as implausible as humanly possible. And they were just adding some more ruffles when Ayame heard the soft but discernible sound of someone coming into the shop; they had one of those little chimes now too, so along with the light "swoosh" of the door there was a ring that made it unmistakeable.

"Mine, there's a customer that need attending to; I think you can finish this yourself, can you not?"

"Oh, yes sir," said Mine "Certainly, sir."

And Ayame exited the room into the shop per se.

"Dear customer," he s said in his usual, foppish, over-the-top voice "Welcome to my humble shop, what may I do for you…"

Then, he paused:

"Yuki? My younger brother…" Ayame exclaimed upon seeing the visitor "What a pleasant surprise!"

It was indeed the aforementioned boy.

"Please," said Yuki coldly "Spare me all the lace. I've come here to talk to you very seriously."

"Oh, really? What about?"

"I'm having really serious problems, and I… I…" here Yuki seemed almost to be resigning to what he was going to say "I thought I could talk to you about it."

Yuki couldn't believe what he was doing; but he'd thought this over, and, for all the tension between them and the grudge that Yuki still bore against him, Ayame was someone he could trust. His ongoing guilt-trip about when they were kids gave him bonus points as well, and besides, it wasn't like Yuki had anyone else to confide in; Shigure was about on the same level of trust as Ayame, but he lived in the same house with Yuki and Kyo, and thus there was the possibility that the Cat would figure something out.

So... here we are!

The limitations of Yuki's intimate relationships were truly staggering.

"It's about how you lost to Kyo, isn't it?" said Ayame.

"Yes," said Yuki firmly.

"Well, what about it?" said Ayame.

"Well… what now?" said Yuki "I mean, he defeated me, and the whole family knows. I haven't met up with most of them until now, but this is a very important event. Kyo wanted to take my place among the Jyunishi… Will I get kicked out now? Will I stop going to the banquets? Will I get imprisoned in his place?"

"It _is_ a rather touchy situation," said Ayame "And there's really no way of knowing what Akito is going to do about it…"

"I don't regret losing," said Yuki quickly "I don't regret losing for one minute. But I don't know what I'm going to do next."

"You don't?"

"No," said Yuki firmly. But then he realised the faux-pas.

Ayame's eyebrows raised:

"You mean, you lost on purpose?"

"I… uh…" Yuki began trying to recover "No. No, that's not what I mean."

But Ayame wasn't convinced:

"You wanted out of the Jyunishi, didn't you?" he said "You wanted Kyo to take your place; you hate the Twelve, and you hate being part of the Twelve."

Yuki stopped a bit; and then, he decided to play along:

"Yes," he said, with an air of surrender "Yes, that's it."

He'd already gone too far in, and it was better that Ayame believe this than that he know the truth. Besides, Yuki thought guiltily to himself, maybe it wasn't entirely false; maybe he really _had _let himself loose not only from love but also from a burning desire to escape the loveless circle of the Twelve Zodiac animals.

"Yuki," then said Ayame solemly "I'm going to speak to you as an elder brother now, so listen up."

"Yes, Ayame," said Yuki, a bit exasperated.

"It's serious," said Ayame "Now, if you want my opinion, and I know you do, at least deep down, or you wouldn't have come all the way here, there's a good side to what you just did, and a bad side."

"Really?" said Yuki.

"Yes," said Ayame, "First off, I'm not going to tell anybody. I swear to secrecy, you know it, my little brother, don't you…"

"Ayame, get on with it…"

"Yes... And second of all," said Ayame "I can reassure you that Akito will never find out. Akito may be cunning and conniving and everything, but if Kyo says he won and you say you won, even if he demands a rematch, he can't possibly prove anything nor have anything proven; in the worst of cases, you'll have to lose again. Akito isn't all powerful; Of course, if he wants to scheme, the fact that you won is something he'll eventually get around, but not even he can annul the fact that you lost to Kyo."

"I… I'm not quite sure if that's good to know. That was the good news?"

"Yes…"

"I can't wait to hear the bad…"

"The bad news, Yuki," said Ayame "Is intimately related to the first one. Again, it seems that you and Kyo believe that Akito is omnipotent. You've suffered a lot at his hands, especially you. But that's not true."

"What do you mean?"

"Yuki," said Ayame "Even if tomorrow Akito issues an edict that the Cat is part of the Twelve and the Rat isn't, that is not going to change much. Your curse isn't going to be lifted, and neither is Kyo's. Kyo, for all his trying to defeat you, isn't going to gain the appreciation and love he hopes to get from the whole family. He's still going to be the Cat, and he's still going to have to turn into a monster when he takes his bracelet off, and they're not going to name a year after him anytime soon. And as for you, you're not going to stop being one of the Twelve: you'll still turn into a rat; you won't become "normal" just because you lost to Kyo or because the family officially recognises you lost to Kyo. You're not going to change your personality, and turn your admirers away and acquire true "normal" friends because of this like you want to. In short, Yuki, what I'm trying to tell you is that the fact that Kyo beat you isn't that big a deal."

Yuki didn't answer at first. He was assessing the fact, and, much to his surprise, it was quite true; oh dear... he couldn't help feeling a little empty inside.

"I hope I helped you," said Ayame.

"Yes," said Yuki, "Yes, you did. But I have to go now…"

"Oh," said Ayame with a slightly melancholy "Oh, okay… goodbye then."

"Bye," said Yuki, still reflecting; and he got up to leave.

But at the last moment, when he was almost at the door, he turned around:

"Hey, Ayame?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Thank you; sincerely."

And Yuki went off, and Ayame was left quite satisfied with the discussion he'd just had thinking that maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to get a little closer to his baby brother.

"Was that Yuki, Ayame-san?"

"Yes, Mine."

"Did you…"

"Oh no, Mine. On the contrary: we had a very helpful, very brotherly talk. I think he may just have profited from my wise elder years."

And he smiled, and Mine smiled back. It was all very delightful.

Around the time when all this was happening, Kyo was lying on the bed and reflecting deeply on his current situation. The telephone was ringing downstairs, but it really didn't matter that much to him: Shigure was there, he'd get it.

Obviously, Kyo was overjoyed that he'd beat Yuki. He still couldn't quite manage to believe it, and at times he would even pinch himself to see if this was just a sweet dream of milk and honey from which he would wake up into a world of murky water and stale bread.

Yet still, he was beginning to realise that this wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting. Maybe because his deepest subconscious believed that he'd never really manage to beat Yuki, he'd allowed himself to dream about it at will, and thus had overblown it so much that there probably was some part of his mind that was expecting a glorious parade into the Central Sohma Estate with a triumphal arch in front of the Banquet hall and a statue... Deep down he thought that defeating Yuki would solve all his problems, and make him accepted and beloved by all like he thought the Rat was. But of course, none of this seemed to be happening.

In fact, nothing seemed to be happening! Sure, it hadn't even been a week since his victory, and he hadn't even spoken to Akito, but still it felt a bit weird. And Kyo was starting to realise that people probably wouldn't start liking him anymore because he'd defeated Yuki.

He was better off than before; a lot better off than before. But perhaps, the thought gnawed at his brain, defeating Yuki hadn't been the road to acceptance.

But Kyo didn't have time to dig deeper into this, because just then his musings were interrupted by someone entering into his room.

"What do you want?" asked Kyo.

It was Shigure.

"I was with Akito on the phone," he said "You need to come downstairs, he told me something very important. I think Yuki should be here too for this."

Kyo's heart jolted a bit; ninety-nine per cent of the time, if Akito had something to declare or have declared it was no good.


	12. Chapter 12

Yuki came home no more than ten minutes later, and Shigure informed him immediately of the news of Akito's phone call; upon receiving this information, Yuki's anxiety was not unlike that Kyo had experienced.

Shigure then sat the boys down, and ceremoniously took a seat as said boys waited in anticipation for what Akito could possibly have had to say to them; it was still pretty stressing, even with Shigure as Akito's mouthpiece; the Dog coughed.

"Now," said Shigure finally, after what seemed like an intentionally stretched-out introduction "As both of you know, the fact that Kyo defeated Yuki is something of major importance."

"Finally!" said Kyo "I thought Akito would never notice!"

Yuki just nodded curtly.

"Now, now, don't get excited" said Shigure "Akito just called, and he informed me that he is already making according arrangements."

"Arrangements? What arrangements?" Yuki asked, a tad queasy at all this.

"He didn't tell me specifically," said Shigure "But he did tell me one thing, and this is for Kyo; Kyo, I thought he might tell you over the phone himself, but then I also thought that neither you nor he would appreciate the gesture…Anyway: my dear nephew, since you defeated Yuki, you get to choose whether you stay here to study or go off to England."

"Oh," said Kyo "Really?"

"Yes," said Shigure "I expect you'll take advantage of this to stay here, but you can leave if you want…"

"Wow," said Kyo "Neat!"

"I thought you'd say something to that effect!," said Shigure "So, have you made up your mind?"

"I… I think I'll have to think about it," said Kyo.

"Good," said Shigure, "That's what I expected you'd say."

"Is that all?" said Yuki "Did I really have to be present for this?"

Yuki, as the reader may have noticed, was trying to seem as cold and spiteful towards Kyo's affairs as ever, and he thought he'd succeeded; yet it was only because deep inside him, he was overjoyed that there was still a chance of Kyo staying in Japan, though the fact that he'd said he was going to think about it bode ill for the poor Rat lover-boy.

"Actually," Shigure said answering Yuki's question "No… no you didn't. But I thought it might interest you! Akito has made many more arrangements of you two, to which he sadly did not make me privy. But you will learn them quite soon: he'll come over for tea during the week."

At this, both Sohma boys froze:

"Tea? Who drinks tea anymore?" was Kyo's first reaction.

"Traditional well-to-do Japanese people like us, Kyo," said Shigure "Not to mention the British boys you'll be bunking with… now, if you'll excuse me, I've got business to take care of, before supper. Good luck, and off you go, that's all you two needed to know."

"Are you sure, Shigure?" asked Yuki.

"Oh, yes," said Shigure "At least from what I know, I'm absolutely positive."

And Yuki took the Dog's word that he had nothing more to say, and the two boys were off.

That afternoon, Kyo climbed to the roof; he had some thinking to do.

Up until then, the roof had been his hideout, his sort of last escape resort; but now that he'd defeated Yuki the location, though it had not ceased to be important, had taken different significance. Now, he felt like he was standing on that mighty castle from which a victorious lord surveys his possessions; and the wind of the forest around them no longer bore the bitter if tender feel of consolation, but rather it filled him with the powerful sentiment of triumph.

He was actually deciding on his first prize from Akito for beating Yuki… Kyo _still _couldn't believe it.

Now the instinctive reaction to being given a choise, of course, would have been for him to stay in Japan. That was probably what Akito had planned.

But then, he thought, what exactly was there to stay for? He'd proven all he had to prove, he was, at least in his own heart, equal to the Twelve, and that was that.

He didn't have anyone that really loved him, bar Kazuma, but a boy's got to grow up eventually, and besides, at the rate his visits were going, he wouldn't see him much more rarely than already did. And the rest of the Sohma family's attitudes against him ranged from indifferent to hostile, as he'd already reflected, so, really what was there to stay for?

Not tom mention that, on the other hand, Akito offering him schooling in England was probably one of the greatest prizes he'd ever gotten. Even if the head of the Sohma clan's decisions were generally inscrutable and usually villainous, a boarding school on the other side of the world had to be something extraordinarily expensive, and probably much better than anything he would go to here in Japan, unless Akito had him transferred to one of those schools for the insanely rich with fountains and chandeliers and Host Clubs.

And with this and with that, Kyo's mind circled around and around like a bird of prey until it finally landed on the conclusion: this was an opportunity, and he had to take it.

And thus, when he came down to supper, Kyo announced to Shigure:

"I'm still going to England, you know,"

And Shigure was quite surprised.

Yet more than that, Yuki, who was also present, was much affected by the statement. For upon hearing those words from Kyo, his heart broke a little inside.


	13. Chapter 13

Now Yuki, upon learning that Kyo was still going to depart for England was understandably shocked. He certainly wasn't expecting _that. _And even if he had been expecting it, he wouldn't have bit less distraught. The Rat didn't know how and what, but he felt a rush of amorous sentiments inside him tell him that he should do something. And then he thought of it, and it was something his heart had been nudging him on to do for a long time now, but which the gravity of the situation and, moreover, the (unwilling, true, but nonetheless existent) ingratitude that Kyo had shown had only just pushed him to decide upon doing. It was a sudden decision, it was true, but then again, maybe he should stop being so cautious!

And so, in the kind of fury that can only be born of love, after supper Yuki rushed up to Kyo in his room when the latter was alone brushing up his English –he _was _going to go to England after all, and there's a reason it's called England-. Propriety and shame had for a long time stopped him from doing this, but this was the very last straw. And thus Yuki confronted Kyo on his departure:

"Kyo," he said "Why are you leaving Japan?"

Kyo looked up from his book:

"Yuki, what the _heck _are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry," Yuki continued without faltering "But I won't stand you leaving without proper explanation."

"Yuki, are you okay?" said Kyo "Or did my kick last time put your little rat's brain out of place?"

"Kyo, I'm very serious," said Yuki "I don't want you to leave, and I think it's very inconsiderate of you to do so without so much as an explanation."

Kyo, naturally was flabbergasted at all this. Of all people, for Yuki to come up and ask him to stay in Japan, and so emphatically at that, was certainly not something he was waiting for; was he joking?:

"Look," Yuki went on "I know we've had rough times, and we're rivals and everything, but I don't want you to leave… I love you Kyo."

"What?"

"Oh, no," said Yuki "Not like that, you idiot Cat, I mean like a cousin. We fight and bicker all the time, but we live under the same roof, we're of the same blood, and we should -or at least that's what I think, and I hope you do too- share some kind of bond. And, I really didn't think I'd ever be saying this, but… I'm going to miss you."

"Oh," said Kyo, a bit stunned "Oh, I never knew…"

"Kyo, please… don't go to England."

Now again, this was not something Kyo had been prepared for. For a moment, he was somewhat stunned, and he'd gone through the conversation almost like an automaton. His thoughts were along the lines of:

"Yuki's going to do _what_?"

But at length, he had recovered his composure, and with it his aggressive attitude.

"You know, Yuki, if you loved me so much you could've said so earlier," said Kyo "I don't know what's come over you, but I'm leaving for England. Nobody here's ever shown even a bit of respect for me, and that little speech of yours isn't doing it. I'm done with you guys! If you wanted to do something, you should've done it years ago. Now get out of my room. You don't love me, not even as a sixth cousin three times removed, that I know for certain!"

"Kyo," said Yuki gravely "Don't talk about what you don't know."

"Get out of my room," said Kyo "Or I'll have to kick your a- again!"

"Oh, that does it!" said Yuki then, and he flew into a rage so great that even Kyo was stunned by it.

But of course… how could Kyo understand?

And they fought; but then, without a word, just as he was about to win, Yuki turned around, fuming with anger, and left. Then Kyo told himself that Yuki was acting very strangely lately; and to be honest, he _did_ find it just a tad moving that Yuki would have wanted him to stay; he never thought anyone had cared about him, even enough to say this, and it left him thinking a lot. He really did have no idea that Yuki loved him, even if it was a cousin.

It had even made his heart feel strangely fuzzy, just for a moment, but for now it was chiefly perplexing.

Yet Kyo's mind was made up: and he'd been hurt too much to have it changed so easily. And as for Yuki's strange behaviour, he pinned it all on him losing the battle.

But the reader should not go around thinking that the Rat wasn't reflecting on these issues either. Yuki, in fact, reflected a lot, though he didn't know exactly what to think: he was feeling a bit guilty about having tried to hit Kyo again, though also, he dared to admit to himself –selfishly, as he would have described-, a bit happy to know he still had the upper hand when not trying to loose.

But most of all, he felt hurt; hurt that Kyo would spurn his pleas, and so easily reject him.

Yet soon the pain in his heart would be erased by an even greater threat to both him and the Cat.


	14. Chapter 14

Akito proved, as usual, true to his word. On the arranged date, he arrived at Shigure's house, where a tea had been prepared in honour of the head of the family's arrival. When he entered Shigure's sitting room the house almost seemed overtaken with a sudden gloom, and Akito himself certainly didn't seem sympathetic, what with his pitch black outfit; it was the only colour he'd wear when not in kimono.

With impeccable coolness and always the hint of a villainous grin on his face, as if mocking everything he overlooked, he sat down over the tea table; Shigure, Yuki and Kyo stood by respectfully.

"Come now, sit down," said Akito "We have many things to discuss, and I don't have all day."

The trio immediately obeyed, with deadpan faces, hiding their respective curiosity, anticipation, and contempt.

Of course, when referring to sitting, the author would like to specify that it is meant in the Japanese fashion.

"Now," Akito declared, when he saw that everyone was listening "As I presume you three know, I came here to talk to you about how Kyo defeated Yuki in battle."

"Yes," said Shigure

"Well," said Akito, turning to Kyo "I suppose it's no use hiding it anymore, so I'll tell them."

Then, he spoke to everyone:

"Yuki, Shigure, it's like this: we had a little arrangement with Kyo: if Kyo defeated Yuki he would be freed from his sentence to life imprisonment. And now that this has happened, I've come to fullfill my side of the bargain…"

"What?" Shigure exclaimed; he was the only one of the present company not to know of Kyo and Akito's arrangement, so naturally he was the only one surprised.

Yuki, who wasn't supposed to know, tried to look surprised, but thought it best not to speak lest he betrayed himself.

"What you heard, Shigure," Akito continued "Now, I am a man of my word and, obviously, Kyo will no longer be imprisoned for life, if he indeed defeated Yuki, but that is not all. Kyo, you shall officially be made one of the Twelve: you have my own permission as head of this family to attend the banquets, though you won't get to do the dance, because, frankly, we're not quite influential enough to change the calendar.

"What?" said Kyo, brimming with joy "Really?"

"Yes," said Akito "Really."

"Oh yeah!"

It was all Kyo had ever wanted, and it was now being officially confirmed; deep down in his heart, since the day he'd won, he'd doubted Akito would keep up his side of the bet. But now everything had been officially declared, and it seemed the arrangement was irrevocable.

"That's _still_ not all, Cat-Boy," Akito continued, with only a slight increase in his grin as an acknowledgement of Kyo's overflowing rapture "As a member of the Jyunishi, obviously, you get some extra perks. One of them was getting to choose whether you go to England or not; I was informed you chose to go, is that correct?"

"Yes," said Kyo.

Here Yuki's heart fluttered a bit.

"Good, then it is settled," said Akito "And additionally, I intend to grant you one thing of your request as a celebration of this… historic victory."

"One wish? You mean, like, anything?"

"Anything feasible, Kyo," said Akito "And no, you cannot wish for unlimited wishes."

"Alright!" Kyo exclaimed, "I wish for…"

"Now, now, don't rush it," said Akito "You'll have time enough to think of the matter, I'll be back in one week."

"One week? But why?"

"You are a rash boy, Kyo," said Akito "And I wouldn't want you making any hasty decisions without reflecting carefully on the matter; and besides, I told you all this would happen _if _you indeed defeated Yuki in battle."

"If? What do you mean, if?" said Kyo, here beginning to get a tad piqued.

"Don't anger yourself, Kyo," said Akito "But I'm very sorry to say, it isn't exactly the easiest thing for me to believe that you managed to defeat Yuki in hand-to-hand combat, especially after your, shall I say… less-than-stellar record agasint him. Therefore, I've decided to organise a rematch where _I'll _be present."

"What… but…"

"Why is it necessary? I said myself that..."

This second phrase came from Yuki. Though he shouldn't have shown it, and though he'd tol himself he should't be, yet he was still just as distressed at the fact that Kyo wasn't out of the woods yet.

But Akito interrupted them both.

"Oh, come now, Kyo," said he "Don't tell me you're afraid… if you defeated Yuki once, you can defeat him a second time. And as for you Yuki, well... If you lost once, you can certainly lose again."

Kyo sighed in resignation.

"I guess you're right…" he said.

Yuki just bit his lip.

"Well now," said Akito "I think I've said all I had to say… how are you all going on?"

And then the party proceeded to go on talking about essentially insubstantial things, until finally it got late and Akito decided to leave.

But he did _not_ leave before cornering Yuki and telling him something that no-one else heard:

"Yuki," Akito whispered, "Don't think that this defeat is without consequence."

Yuki was a bit taken aback:

"Excuse me?"

"Of course," said Akito "We can't have you thrown out of the Zodiac. But in view of recent events, I've made an important decision."

"Like… like what?"

"Well, someone has to take on some of the Cat's functions."

"What do you mean?"

"If you _do _lose to Kyo, you're coming back to live with me at the Central Sohma Estate… Permanently, in his stead."


	15. Chapter 15

After Akito left, Yuki retired to his little garden to do quite a bit of thinking; or rather, he stormed off, in a manner which had hitherto been more customary of Kyo than him. Understandably, he was very distressed: Akito was planning on taking him back. Just when he thought he'd stepped on firm ground, just when he thought that that he had, at the very least, succeeded in harmlessly freeing the object of his affection, Yuki felt a terrible earthquake shake his world and remove the ground from under his very fee,t,so that now he was falling at a vertiginous rate into the bottomless abyss. And who wouldn't feel like that? He'd just learned that, if he saved Kyo, he'd get imprisoned in his stead. Before him was the prospect of life of confinement.

Akito couldn't possibly have done this just for the fun of it. He knew what was going on... But of course, the Rat thought: he'd gotten suspicious when he'd had come to visit him. And now, he was just watching over his bet with Kyo, to see that he wasn't getting conned. Obviously, Akito knew, or at least sensed a part of the truth, and acted accordingly. But so cruelly, Yuki thought? So mercilessly?

Well, this was Akito.

Maybe he should pull back, Yuki thought; maybe he should just beat Kyo, and get this over with. But then… oh, he couldn't help but cringe at the thought of poor Kyo imprisoned, day after day, year after year, for ever and ever until he finally expired in utter loneliness and solitude.

Yet on the other hand, Yuki thought of himself; he thought about himself spending the rest of his life in the Sohma house, locked off for the rest of his days, at the mercy of a person who already had done him so much harm.

And anyway, why should he care about Kyo? Hadn't Kyo already hurt him enough? Hadn't Kyo felt nothing but hatred towards him? Hadn't Kyo spurned even the most subtle and humble openings he'd made to him. Why should he ever, ever do anything again for Kyo?

Because he loved him…

Maybe he should tell Kyo, the thought crossed yuki's mind. That might help… Kyo hated him, but he'd have to be a very horrible person to let him be imprisoned...

But then again, what _could_ Kyo do to save him anyhow?

And why should he do anything for someone who, willingly or not, he thought was trying to imprison him?

Yuki didn't know what to think; the plants and birds and tree around him were, of course, completely silent, and Yuki was once again left with only himself to think of his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Kyo was in Shigure's back yard, training like a thousand hells. He was already in the most warmongering of moods –and that's saying a lot, considering this is Kyo we're talking about- and so he pushed himself to the limits and beyond. It was like his whole soul was ablaze; Kyo, deep down, knew he should feel angry and cheated by Akito, but he couldn't because he was just so impossibly hyped up. He'd beat Yuki in front of Akito, he'd beat Yuki in front of the whole family! He'd show that Rat a thing or two, that's for sure. And as he thought of this, ever kick, every punch, every chop he practiced just increased his fury.

"I'll beat him so hard he'll be begging for mercy!"

And it was all very well; but, just to increase the already quasi-superhuman level of Kyo's excitement, who should have visited Shigure's house that day but his master Kazuma.

"Sensei?" Kyo said, his eyes lighting up.

"I told you I'd come and visit whenever I could," said Kazuma, coming out from the back door "Now, I see you've warmed yourself up; but let's get to the real training, word has it that you've got a big battle coming up!"

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Kyo, and the training was on.

Kazuma, despite the great love he held for his student, wasn't at all lenient and pushed him to his limit, which Kyo, in his excitement to prove himself far surpassed; he didn't think he'd been so tired in years. It was intense, it was exhausting, it was impossibly hard, but Kyo loved it.

If only he knew how much the result of his victory would effect that one person who, unbeknownst to anyone, secretly pined of the boy.

Yet when all was finally said and done, and Kyo, having thrown his shirt off and drank probably two litres of water sat down beside Kazuma, they had a talk of much more profound sense:

"Sensei," said Kyo "I have a question for you…"

"Yes, Kyo?" said Kazuma.

Kyo looked to the ground.

"What do you think I should ask for when I beat Yuki?"

Kazuma chuckled:

"Oh," he said "So it's already a fact that you'll beat Yuki now, isn't it?"

"Well duh!" said Kyo "I beat him once, didn't I?"

"Never underestimate your enemy, Kyo," said Kazuma "But if I were you, you know what I'd ask from Akito?"

"A million dollars?"

"No…" said Kazuma "That's what a hot-headed young fighter like you would ask. What you should really ask him for is a house in some good part of Tokyo."

"A house? That sounds a bit… odd."

"I know, but if you can do it in a way that it'll cost more than one million dollars. Think about it: Akito can obviously afford to buy you pretty much anything short of the Imperial Palace, and, even if you don't think about it now, one of most people's major expense in life is housing… especially those who don't… inherit it."

Here Kazuma gave a slightly sterner look at Kyo, who would have resented the reference to his parents from anyone else.

"Not to mention," continued his master, on a more light-hearted tone "That you'll be spared the temptation to spend it. And if you can, ask him for a cushy job… I'm sure he has some government contacts."

Kyo here laughed a tad:

"You're beginning to sound like some old aunt…" he said jokingly.

"Well," said Kazuma "Why do you think everyone wants to inherit old aunts' money?"

Kyo laughed again, but at length he became serious:

"You want to know something else, sensei?" he said, and suddenly the tone of his words seemed to make them more important.

"What is it, Kyo?" said Kazuma.

"Yuki's been acting all weird lately," said Kyo.

"Really?" said Kazuma "What, is it since you beat him?"

"Yeah," said Kyo, "Yeah, I…"

But then he paused, coming to a sudden realisation:

"Actually, you know what?" said Kyo "No… No, it isn't. Yuki's been acting strange since the day he left me unconscious. We barely fight anymore –in fact, we only fought once apart from that one battle I won in…"

"Did you win?"

"Nah, I lost, but that's beside the point; so there's that, and then there's the fact that _he _was actually the one to challenge me to the fight I won. And, get ready for this, yesterday he told me he loved me."

Here, Kazuma's eyes opened wide:

"He _what_ now?"

"No, sensei, not that way!" exclaimed Kyo, a tad flustered "He said as a cousin, as a family member… but you've got to admit, that's still pretty big for him. I kicked him out of my room, of course, but… maybe I shouldn't have done that. You know, it felt really weird, but also kind of good to know that he had at least _some _sort of feeling for me… You know what I'm saying, sensei, like, I'm going to miss being rivals with him… Sensei… Sensei?"

Kazuma hadn't answered yet, because he seemed overtaken by his thoughts. But after the second call from his student, he turned to Kyo, and spoke to him, in one of the gravest tones the boy had ever heard him use:

"Kyo… I'm very sorry to tell you this," he said sternly "But I've got strong suspicions that Yuki let you win."

And Kyo turned to him with a look of utter discombobulation.


	16. Chapter 16

That night, Yuki went to his garden again; chiefly to try to put together what little thoughts and strength he could muster to find some solution to this staggering dilemma... But for all his thinking, he could not dispel the despair from his heart; and as he saw those familiar plants growing, those plants that were, perhaps, the only beings that had never demanded anything more of him than he could offer, those calm, perfect plants that accepted him just the way he was, Yuki was overcome with an invincible melancholy as he came to the realisation that in well nigh less than a few years he would never see them again, nor indeed ever see anything again save the dreary, old, ceremonious walls of the golden prison that was the Central Sohma house.

Unless he beat Kyo; but he suspected he could never do that.

He had loved. Once, just once, the boy that so many girls, and probably a few other boys had swooned over had chosen to love; and now, when the brim of the cup of happiness had been at his lips, when he had finally believed he was going to do something from his lover, it was taken from his hands, and he was forced to choose:

Would he free Kyo, or would he free himself?

With difficulty holding back tears, Yuki clenched his fists in rage, and cursed his own weakness. He cursed himself, and his own selfish soul for not being able to sacrifice his life head-on for the boy to whom he had secretly pledged love unending, and then he cursed that same unending love for demanding of him to make a sacrifice so above his poor, wretched, soul:

_"I can't," _he thought to himself, tears now rolling down his pale cheeks _"I just can't!"_

And Kyo, all joys and fanfares, preparing to beat him, inflated with vanity and hatred towards him! It was ridiculous… All while Yuki pined away from his love, unbeknownst to anyone but his own heart and the silent, placid, ever-growing green plants.

Yuki decided to go back home and sleep, to see if perhaps he could find repose there which he could not find awake. Truth be told, he had gotten an idea as to what he should do but...

Suffice to say he was on the edge of a towering cliff, and he needed now but one push to fall over...

But in the meantime, neither was Kyo free that evening from moral reflection: as he sat on the roof of the house, watching the last of the sun set beyond the west, his brain was racked with a thousand thoughts.

Even though just as his master had said it Kyo had denied it, Kazuma had nonetheless planted in the very depths of the boys' soul the black seed of doubt; and now the poisonous vine of curiosity to which his species was so susceptible enveloped the Cat-boy's heart and filled him with wave upon wave of new questions:

Why _had _Yuki challenged him? Why had he lost? What if Yuki really had let him win? Why would Yuki do such a thing? Why had he been acting strangely? Why had he hit him so hard a few weeks back? What, he even remembered, had he been doing in his room back then?

Kyo could not put the pieces together, but he knew, as perhaps had been latent in his heart all along, that something was not right.

Then, he saw Yuki come up the path; and as the Rat went into the house, Kyo was overtaken by that rage so familiar to him, that all-consuming hatred he felt from knowing that everyone hated him just as well. He may have loved, he may have forgiven if he knew there was someone to love him. But didn't, and he told himself that he never would.

And so, Kyo decided he could wait no longer, and with two leaps was inside the house himself, and ready to finally confront Yuki on all the strange occurrences.


	17. Chapter 17

And so, after all this, when Yuki got into the house and went to his room, Kyo decided it was high time to go and confront him, and he did. He stormed down, pushed the door open, and finally told the Rat all he had to say:

"Yuki," Kyo said not without a hint of anger "Did I win fair and square?"

"What?"

"In our battle... did I really beat you?"

"Kyo, what do you..." Yuki muttered.

Obviously, Yuki was quite taken aback by this. He hadn't expected such a confrontation, at such an hour, and moreover so bluntly, so this naturally stirred him up a lot inside. Could it be that Kyo had found out? No, this was impossible... It had to be something else... Kyo couldn't possibly know! Of course not, Yuki tried to convince himself.

So the Rat controlled himself, and his first reaction, of course, was to put down the book he was reading and deny what Kyo had said.

"Kyo, what are you talking about?" Yuki said with an artificially calm voice.

"The other day, when we fought," said Kyo "Don't act like you don't know. I won... but I want to know if you let me win!"

"Don't be stupid, Kyo," said Yuki, again with a forcedly calm demeanour "Why on earth would I lose to you?"

But on the inside he was anything but calm: Kyo's question had all but thrown him into hysterics! How had this come about? How had Kyo found out? What could he do? If it had felt like the ground under Yuki's feet fell away when Akito had told him of his plans, now it felt like the whole world around him vanished. He was thoroughly terrified!

Of course, deep down, he wanted nothing more than to tell Kyo the truth... but he knew he shouldn't.

Yet before he could think about it clearly, Kyo proceeded to expound the facts:

"Yuki, you've been acting really strange lately," he said, getting more and more worked up as he went on "First off, you'd never lost to me before, and then all of a sudden you challenge me to a fight which you loose in the way I'd expect it the most! Second, now that you've lost, you've stopped fighting with me, and you haven't even denied your loss or asked for a rematch even though we had no witnesses. Do you think I'm dumb? And also... what the hell was up with you coming to my room that day you knocked me out… not to mention all the weird stuff about loving cousins."

Now Yuki was at loss: he hadn't been confronted with any of these before, and though he'd thought about it a bit when putting together his story in the beginning and he'd planned how he would react if this happened, he'd long since forgotten that, so he had to improvise:

"I lost," said Yuki "Because you're better than me. I... I didn't deny it because I, unlike some people, am an honourable fighter; and as for why I came to your room that day, it was to say I was sorry, because even if you don't believe it, again, unlike some people, I have standards."

"And what about all the family stuff?"

Yuki's heart tightened here. He couldn't openly deny love again... no; not after this. So he told a half truth.

"That, Kyo..." said Yuki with a tinge of melancholy "That was true."

Kyo was silent for a bit; this rejoinder came to him almost as unexpectedly as the confrontation had come to Yuki. But he did finally get back to his senses and answer:

"Well, I don't believe one word of it," he declared pompously "You're a liar. I don't know why you do it, or how you do it, but you're lying through your teeth…"

"That's not true!" Yuki exlcaimed, getting angry himself, though this was the kind of anger that hides grief.

"It is!" said Kyo "It is, you're a filthy liar!"

"Kyo, please…" said Yuki, but Kyo wouldn't listen.

"You just better pray you don't let me win again in two days…" said the Cat "Because I am going to beat you so bad you'll be hoping you'll be begging you'd been born a real rat so you'd never met me!"

"Kyo, please stop this…" Yuki said again, this time his masquerade of anger growing weaker and weaker each time, letting through his fear and sadness.

His heart was breaking; if only Kyo knew… if only he knew what he felt, then maybe, just maybe, he could understand him. And if he could understand him, he wouldn't be so cruel… He _couldn't _be so cruel! For it was truly a deep torment for Yuki to be so ruthlessly and viciously attacked by the person to whom his heart was so tender; and though he had been through terrible pains in his life, he could think of few or none to match this one.

"What is it, you damned Rat?" said Kyo, now beside himself with rage, and noticing Yuki was weak "What is it, you got caught up spinning your little web of lies that now you're afraid I found it out? Come on, what is it… cough it up, you little bastard, cough it up, or I swear I'll pound it out of you! I won't be lied to anymore! I won't be the fool!"

"Kyo, please," said Yuki his voice breaking "Please, you don't know anything…"

"Ha ha!" said Kyo, triumphantly, Yuki "So there is something… I knew it, I knew it!"

"Kyo, I'm begging you," said Yuki, his eyes tearing up, "I'm begging you, don't do this to me…"

"Tell me you damned Rat!" said Kyo, and there was no stopping him. His eyes and his very soul were burning with anger. Now, all the rage he'd harboured not only against Yuki but against the entire Sohma family was being taken out on the Rat. He'd rarely been so angry in his life... he felt tricked and decieved, and all his pent up bitterness burst out here.

But although that rage burned inside Kyo, the one that truly was consumed by it was Yuki.

"Come on, Yuki!" Kyo cried "Come on, you bastard, tell me! Tell me!"

And then, the Rat finally snapped:

"Kyo," he declared "I love you!"


	18. Chapter 18

_"Kyo, I love you!"_

Yuki could barely believe he'd said it, but he had.

Upon receiving this answer, Kyo at first remained absolutely speechless. He'd been looking for something, he'd been insatiably digging for an answer, but he certainly wasn't expecting _this_. He'd come looking for a fight, for more hatred from rival his, but instead… No! In a thousand guesses and a thousand lives, Kyo never, never, never could have thought that the reason behind Yuki's behaviour was what Yuki had just told him.

"Are you happy now?" said Yuki, with tears rolling down his cheeks "Are you satisfied? Is your job done? You got it out of me! You finally did it, you found out the truth… Congratulations... Oh, Kyo, I love you. I love you with all my heart, I know how much you hate me, but I love you even more than that! I hate every minute of it, I wish I didn't love you, but I do: you're my first love, my only love, my heart's one and only soul mate. That's why I came to your room, to apologise for hitting you; that's why I tried to keep you here when you said you'd leave; and that's why, yes, I'm confessing it now, that's why I let you win. So there! I love you!"

"But Yuki, I…" Kyo began to mutter.

"I know about the pact you made with Akito," said Yuki "And I thought Akito would set you free if I lost. And I'd have done it again… but Akito caught onto me, and now he… he said he'd imprison me if I lost against you, and I don't know what to do. But I'll lose again, Kyo… Even so, I'll lose again, if I have the strength... I'll lose again because I love you, and I'll always love you no matter how much I have to suffer for it and how much you loathe me."

Kyo still didn't manage to answer; Yuki went on. He didn't know what he was doing, and some part of his heart hoped perhaps to arouse some pity in the Cat, or to find some sort of solution to the situation, but most of all the words just flooded out because he couldn't keep them in any longer; so many years keeping all true feelings to himself to have them erupt now:

"Kyo," Yuki cried desperately "Kyo, I love you! Please understand me, I love you!

Then, Kyo finally began to process the information; and as he slowly realised just what the crying, desperate Yuki was saying to him, he began to snap out of his torpor. But maybe it would have been better for the Rat had he left before this happened.

Because Kyo suddenly pushed Yuki away:

"Get away from me!" he shouted, again going into a rage and violently repulsing the Rat "You say you love me… You're lying! And if it's true, then you are one sick, sick guy!"

"Oh, Kyo, please," Yuki began "No, please, don't…"

But there was no stopping him: all the rage Kyo had ever felt against Yuki, all the belittlement and suffering and hurt of all those years burst out of him like a fiery volcano who's all-consuming lava burnt all on its path. What Yuki had heard before was _nothing._ All his cries for help and tears of pain since childhood had become destructive rage, and now it came out. He remembered everything... and only infuriated himself more.

Yet what hurt him most now were the revelations: he'd never beaten Yuki! He'd never won! When these were but mere suspicions, Kyo hadn't delved into them but now, now that they were real, they incensed him to the brink of insanity: he still couldn't defeat Yuki! He still couldn't lift a finger against Yuki! He was, yet again, a failure, and his one and only victory against Yuki was part of the Rat's demented little plan to do God-knows-what to him.

"I hate you, Yuki," Kyo cried "I don't know what's going through your mind, I don't know what you're thinking, but I hate you with every ounce of my soul, and I think what you just told me is absolutely disgusting. From what I got, you've been stalking me, lying to me, using me, and not only that, but now you're trying to chicken out of the sick little mess you put yourself into."

"Oh, Kyo, no… no, it's not like that," said Yuki.

"What you just told me," Kyo said "What you just told me, right there, that's going to make it even more painful for you when I beat you tomorrow. If you loved me so much, you should've thought of it before. You should've thought of it before beating me down every time we fought, and before humiliating me in front of everybody my whole life. Believe me, back then, I would've given anything to realise somebody loved me, even you! But now it's too late, Yuki; it's years too late: I hate you, and you're never going to change that!"

"Kyo, don't say that… you never know!"

"Yes, I do!" said Kyo, more furious than he'd ever been in his life, far beyond the verge of reason or coherence "Yes I do! I don't need your love, Yuki! I don't need your pity! I'm strong enough without it. I hope this makes everything clear enough for you. I do not want to be allowed to win by anyone: I can win myself, and I am going to win myself! Do you have any idea what you've put me through? Do you have any idea how much I've suffered because of you? Blurting out a confession at the last minute like that, it's not going to change anything, Yuki! I needed love a long, long time ago!"

At these last words, Kyo's voice began to break a bit; but he quickly recovered and kept his composure.

"I've suffered too, Kyo," said Yuki then, desperately "I've been through more than you can imagine, I'm going to get imprisoned instead of you if I lose tomorrow!"

"Then good riddance!" said Kyo "And I hope that makes you take our next fight more seriously: becauseI did not train my whole life so that I could be given my sweet victory as a gift from my... my disgusting cousin!"

"Kyo, please," Yuki begged one last time, sobbing, trying to get a hold of his cousin with his body, and to get a hold of _anything _with his soul "Please!"

But Kyo pushed him away.

"Get away from me, you sick freak!" said the Cat; and with that, he left the room.

Then, Yuki fell to his knees, and cried. He cried and cried and cried, alone in his room like he'd never cried before. So he'd lost... All the hopes he'd foolishly built, all his castles in the sky had been dispersed: he'd never really believed in them; he knew nothing would ever have happened with Kyo, and knew he shouldn't have hoped for anything, he was smart… but he'd never needed to confront the issue head on.

But then again, maybe he _had _hoped. Maybe the dream love, the dream of comforting another hurt soul and being comforted was just so strong that, for all his smarts, he hadn't been able to push it away. After all, if he hadn't really believed, even in the deepest, most obscure part of his heart, that love would triumph, it would never have hurt so much when he it didn't. If he'd expected defeat, it would never have been as painful as it was now.

But it seemed that, sadly, as Yuki cried his hear out, hatred had won the day… His was truly a cursed love.

For his part, after that confrontation, Kyo of course had fled to his own room. He'd never felt so much rage, or so much hatred in his entire life; and that was saying a lot considering what a life he lived. He hadn't won! That was the cornerstone of the scandal: he hadn't really defeated Yuki! All this time, he thought he'd finally managed to do something with himself, he thought his training had finally paid off, but nothing! The strength of a hurricane, the fury of a tempest the senseless destruction of a volcanic eruption could not compare to what was going in Kyo's heart at the moment. He felt betrayed, but betrayed in the strangest way: counter-betrayed one might say: he'd based so much faith in Yuki hating him, that this was to him what cheating would have been to a lover. The hatred he'd felt for Yuki was probably the strongest thing Kyo had felt in his life, and now…

It was a cruel sentiment of his part; it was wrong and mean, he knew it... but he had been taught cruelty very well all these years.

Yuki in love with him? How could this be possible? Kyo could barely believe it, and yet it was true, the Rat couldn't have been lying, and he had no interest in lying: and as Kyo's rage began to die down, he inspected the strangeness of it all: how could it be possible that a person he hated so much loved him? How would something like that even come about? He sighed. And as the fierce beast of hatred inside him slowly went to sleep, he marvelled at the truth he'd just learned.

And then, the thought occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh to his cousin: after all, Yuki hadn't actually _done _anything to him, and what he had done he had done out of gentleness. A sick, twisted, gentleness, even pity if he might venture to that thought, but gentleness nonetheless… And the results _had_ been benevolent.

But love? Love from Yuki? The very thought of it made Kyo cringe, it was disgusting, it was abhorrent, it was everything wrong. Not because Yuki was a boy, that was the least of Kyo's worries. But nobody loved him, the Cat, and nobody _should _love him, just like he loved nobody. Kyo's destiny was to hate and be hated, and that destiny would be realised, first and foremost with and against Yuki.

But then, as if by art of magic, or rather, as if Divine Providence had sent one of its angels to illuminate with a ray of hope the dark, twisted and long tormented abyss of Kyo's soul, a thought came to the boy, one of those strange deductions made more by the heart than the mind; and it went somewhat like this:

If Yuki, Yuki whom he so hated, could love him, then it turned everything around. Kyo, just for a moment, thought that if his very deepest hatred could be repaid with very deepest love, then maybe, just maybe there was hope for him; how much easier his life would be, how much sweeter if he stopped fighting: if Yuki did, as he had said, love him, then really there was nothing else Kyo could wish for… His heart had so hurt, his soul had been tortured so much, that he had forgotten how sweet it was to love. And it suddenly dawned on him that perhaps all he'd been needing and yearning for was the balm of love; and who better to apply the remedy, and how much sweeter I would be if applied by the surrendered, apologetic hand of his former worst enemy. With Yuki changing sides, Kyo thought, it was as if the world changed sides with regard to him, it was as if all the hatred and pain he'd been through turned to love and joy. And in the unfathomable mists of the Cat's heart, the Angel struck a tender string that had long gone untouched…

But then Kyo inexpertly chased it away: because tomorrow, he told himself, he would fight Yuki.

"I hate you, you damned Rat," he muttered between his teeth "I _hate _you, do you hear me?"

But he was saying it more to convince himself than anything else.

Meanwhile, in the same house, as he lay in his bed, Yuki dried his tears away, and slowly but surely surrendered to the hatred. For in the fires of Kyo's hatred, his heart felt as though it had been forged into the hardest iron, and his soul had become the deadliest of blades; the old rivalry resurfaced, stronger than ever before, now in the guise of a saviour from amorous despair. It was dark and harsh, but it was all he'd got. And thus chasing away any last feelings of love he could find, or locking them up in the depths of his soul, Yuki told himself, his eyes still wet with the tears of dying love:

"I hate you, Kyo… I hate you Kyo, and I'll make you rue the day you spurned me."

And he was determined that every bit of tenderness he had against the Cat should turn on the next day into fury.


	19. Chapter 19

The next day was to be fateful: this was it; now, everything would be decided, and all oending matters would come to their end… whether this end were to be happy or not.

"Are you ready for the battle, Kyo?" Kazuma asked his student.

"Yes, sensei," Kyo answered firmly, and his master led him outside.

And meanwhile, in another room of the large Sohma Estate:

"Yuki," Ayame asked "Are you ready to fight Kyo?"

"Yes, Ayame," said Yuki, and they walked off. But Ayame proved a better conoisseur of boys' psyche than Kazuma, and noticing in Yuki a trouble which had also been present in Kyo but which that boy's teacher had failed to mention, he caught the boy's shoulder.

"What is it?" Yuki asked, not setting eyes upon his brother.

"Yuki," Ayame asked "Are you alright?"

Then Yuki turned around, and looked Ayame in the eye, and with perhaps even more decision than that with which he'd said he would fight said:

"No. But I have to do this."

Ayame didn't fully understand, but he knew this was not time to ask questions, so he simply said:

"Do whatever you think is right, Yuki."

And so, they went to the location where the fight was to take place.

Now for some clarifications: Akito had arranged for Kyo and Yuki to do battle place in a comfortable small garden in a secluded area of the Central Sohma Estate. It was a calm place. Yet there was something strange in the wind that day, and even the elegant and ancient art of Zen decoration could not loosen the tension before the fight; though perhaps this was not entirely unintentional: it was not at all a coincidence, for example, that in the fountain visibly adjacent to the garden were statues of all twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

Apart from himself, and of course Hatori and Rin in the quality of his personal escort, only Shigure, Ayame and Kazuma were permitted to see the match. Of the latter three, Ayame and Kazuma had been given leave to speak some words of encouragement to their respective brother and student before the battle, though they had both found the boys in a much more untalkative and sober state than on other occasions, and they hadn't learned anything of the previous night's goings on: Kyo was far too proud to admit, even to Kazuma, what had happened and, perhaps understandably, Yuki was very cautious now about letting anyone, even those he loved, in on his secrets.

Additionally, both Kagura and Hatsuharu had firmly requested to be present, but Akito would have nothing of it.

This was it, he thought... Finally this would settle out all the strange plots going under his very nose: it was about time! Whatever was going on, he was tired of it, and he wished Kyo and Yuki would get it over with.

Now that push came to shove, Akito was very anxious to see if they really would carry on with the fight.

He grinned; but his musings were interrupted when the two boys came onto the very particular "arena".

They were both dressed in the traditional "_Gi_" martial arts outfit, and not one of them said a word. Yuki and Kyo, who were usually wont to taunt and shout at each other, now didn't even deign to speak; the silence loomed, overbearing and ominous, as the calm always does before the storm.

And when they crossed their eyes, for the first time since Kyo had exited Yuki's room on the previous night –Yuki had taken care to leave for the Central Sohma Estate long before Kyo was even up, and had Kyo gotten up first, he would have done the same- both of them saw nothing but the other's hatred and felt nothing but their own pain.

Yuki told himself how viciously he'd been betrayed, and tried from the remnants of his own tender love, to extract even more hatred towards his adversary –how could he have been so foolish as to hope? Every memory of his own tenderness, which he himself had built, felt now like a shard of glass through his heart-; and as for Kyo, he was as ready to win the battle as ever. Here, everything would be judged, and neither of the boys could afford to be weak, because both of them believed that the other would be as pitiless as they were attempting to prove themselves.

Then, they curtly bowed to each other, assumed fighting positions, and, at a snap of Akito's fingers, the battle commenced:

"Begin!"

It was something spectacular. Never had any of them fought with such skill or determination. Even if a stranger had walked onto the scene and not been aware of all the tension and precedents, he would have marvelled simply at the sheer sight of the boys' dedication, and would have been in awe at two so talented young fighters pouring out their soul like that and giving everything they had and more. Kyo as usual raged intensely, delivering truly potent blows that Yuki blocked with unparalleled grace; but even when Yuki tried once or twice himself to hit Kyo with one of his masterful strikes, the Cat somehow managed to avoid them, though perhaps not with as much grace as his feline curse might have warranted.

Curses, Yuki would think, he _has _gotten better; and the fight would go on.

Yet for all its magnificence, it was a painful confrontation; for despite its quasi artistic beauty, it was marred by hurt and hatred; it was marred by the fact that every single blow, every kick and punch, every breath and every pant was delivered with so much rage because each of the opponents was desperately trying through his body to get rid of the pain in his own soul and inflict it upon his advesary; and every one of their cries of rage and hatred was in truth nothing more than a cry of help.

"I hate you you damn Rat!"

"I'm going to kill you, Cat!"

_"I love you_."

Though of course, the latter was not spoken aloud; truths seldom are.

Yuki delivered yet another blow that Kyo managed to avoid, in his usual ragtag but nonetheless now efficient manner, and Kyo quickly recovered and poised himself in a split second to deliver a blow.

And Yuki would have stopped it. But at that moment, something strange happened, and he faltered.


	20. Chapter 20

And thus, Kyo hit Yuki.

It would not be entirely correct to say that Yuki deliberately let himself get hit, though there would be some truth in the statement; but the moment Kyo had avoided his first blow and he was ready to give another one to finish the Cat off, Yuki felt something go awry in his heart, and a part of his soul remembered what it had been attempting to forget since the night before: he loved Kyo. He'd been trying to deny it, trying to turn the love to hate, but it was vain, his heart told him, because he loved. And though his love had brought him pain, that pain was still not the hatred he wanted to feel. Because he loved the Cat, damnit! He hated it, but he loved Kyo!

And though of course these thoughts were not so fully analysed at the moment, and they flashed through Yuki's mind in perhaps a fraction of a second, yet they touched him. And then, the very depth of him, the obscure mists of what psychologists call the Id and the Superego, remembered that they were indeed in love, and that by striking now they would be condemning their beloved to a life of servitude; and though, as it has been said said, Yuki never thought all of this out, yet these feelings made him falter for just long enough, just that split second, just that tiny fraction of an instant, which it took for Kyo to kick him.

And when he came back to his senses, Yuki lay on the ground defeated, not quite sure himself if he'd let Kyo win or not, but definitely sure that this was it…

He'd lost against Kyo.

_It was over now..._

At that moment, the reader will understand, there was so much tension in the air one could cut it with a knife. No-one dared to speak; surprisingly enough, not even Kyo, who Yuki was quite sure would have been partying by now…

The first one to break the silence was in fact Akito:

He got up, and with a snide smile, while everyone else stood in solemn silence, slowly applauded Kyo.

"Bravo!" he said "Congratulations, my dear boy, congratulations! I must say, I'd never thought you capable of it, but you did it… you defeated Yuki."

Kyo didn't answer. He was still catching his breath, and his mind was in a state similar to that of his body, sort of dazed by the whole situation, and trying to re-synchronise with the world around it -much like the mind of his opponent, by the way.

"Well, my boy?" said Akito then "You don't answer? You remember our agreement, don't you? You are free and you are also hereby entitled to one feasible request from me."

Kyo simply nodded here, deep in thought. He'd won. This was quite a day and he should be happy... yet he was not; in point of fact, he was not happy at all. Instead, his heart felt absolutely hollow. He remembered the joy he'd felt the first time he'd defeated Yuki, and wished he could feel it again now. That had been a lie, and yet it had made him feel happier than this. Now, there was no joy: just an astounding nothingness.

But then again, this was natural: the one and only dominant emotion he had felt throughout his entire life was rage, and he had (only in part justly) driven all that rage against Yuki. So now that he had, with all possible pomp and circumstance defeated Yuki, he had finally let out all that rage; there was no more fury left in his heart, and consequently, it felt quite empty... that made sense.

It all added up to a very deceiving victory.

Yet all was not lost: for deep down, under all the rage and hatred, another feeling had began to spread its roots, and now that the hatred was gone and the coast was clear, it began slowly to show its head. And as Kyo considered the current state of affairs more and more, that feeling grew stronger and stronger, until seemed to be, in reality, the only answer to all the dilemmas; and a very simple answer it was, for that matter, almost childlike. He could barely believe it.

"Well…" said Akito, tauntingly, "Come now, you won't spoil me the favour of granting your wish."

Then, Kyo snapped out of it, and he turned to the head of the clan and said:

"Bring me a notary."

At first Akito was surprised:

"What?" he said.

"I said, bring me a notary," Kyo insisted "I don't want to be tricked, and I'm going to need a legal document for what I'm going to ask you."

"Well, I suppose…"

"I hold all of you witnesses," said Kyo, now turning to their small audience "Before our ancestors and Heaven, I hold you witnesses, you saw me win, and you saw Akito promise to give me whatever I requested."

The audience nodded uneasily.

"Within the realms of possibility, and if the cost is not too extravagant, I will, Kyo," said Akito "Don't get all angry over it!"

"Good," said Kyo "Then you'd better send someone to bring me a notary ASAP! And don't worry, it won't cost you a yen."

Sighing, Akito agreed and called for a servant who was sent to fetch the aforementioned magistrate. Kyo thanked him, though he didn't even smile in doing it.

The only one in the audience that thought he knew what Kyo was going to ask for was Kazuma, but it would be unwise to reveal if he was right or not.

And as for Yuki, he couldn't take this anymore; and without saying a word, he got off the ground, and ran back home.


	21. Chapter 21

No more than a few hours later, Yuki was sitting in his garden. He could by no means bring himself to actually tend to the plants, but still he sat there. As far as he knew, none of the others had come home yet, and Kyo might still be notarising whatever if was he wanted notarised with Akito, so he had some alone time. And frankly, even if someone did come over, he was quite determined to _continue _to have alone time.

So this was it, he thought with a sigh; this is where it all ended; this was how love was paid back. He'd wept, he'd sacrificed himself, he'd even been honest and confessed, so there was no misunderstanding about anything, and now because of it he was going to be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

So what all the cynics said was true: love doesn't conquer all, and being good and true to your heart only gets you into trouble. He was a perfect example! Of course, he said to himself, he'd always thought this, but no-matter how hard he tried he could never apply it: deep down, he'd fallen in love; and he still was in love, he thought, much to his own dismay.

He wasn't even crying anymore. He'd shed so many tears, he really was close to believing he wasn't crying now because he had none left. And if sobbing is sad, the bitterness when it ends in surrender is even worse.

Not to mention the sun was shining and the plants were pretty, and it was not a day to cry.

He'd better enjoy it. Soon, he'd be somewhere where he could never see those plants again, and very little of the sun at that. His private sanctuary would go from being a garden to being a cell.

He thought of it: what would happen to his plants, anyway? Would anyone tend to them while he was gone? It was a quite trivial matter, but it caught his attention. After some reflection, he thought they'd probably wither away, and that made him sad.

Though they wouldn't be the only ones to wither away.

Well, one can't fight nature, Yuki thought. The axiom, he believed, had been amply demonstrated.

And he got up to go home, and to tend to some earthly matters before his departure.

But just as he was about to leave, he saw someone on the little path leading through his house. Quite frankly, it was the last person he had wanted to see:

"Kyo," said Yuki, very seriously "How did you find me here?"

"I looked," said Kyo simply "I'm a cat, remember?"

Yuki couldn't believe this; the Cat dared to come to his garden?

"You have some gall coming here, you know that?" he said "Now get away! Get off my garden or I'll break your neck… and don't fool yourself, we both know I can."

But Kyo wasn't intimidated. Surprisingly, he wasn't even angry.

"Yuki," he simply said, handing out a small envelope to the Rat "Read this."

"Kyo, go away…"

"Just read it!" said Kyo, almost irritated. But immediately, it seemed as if he regretted it and he continued much softer, with a sort of frustrated reserve which must have been his best attempt at courtesy "Please."

Yuki didn't know what to do. This was very insolent of Kyo! But in the end, he took the envelope, because love, though torn and mangled, yet lived in the heart, and though he didn't want to show it, he couldn't refuse Kyo a favour.

He neatly opened the envelope, and took out a letter; then he unfolded said letter and read it. It was a legally binding and ratified deed, and after all the legal introductions it read.

_"I, Akito Sohma, hereby renounce all claims to jurisdiction or legal custody over the person Kyo Sohma and all those related to him in a manner which shall not be specified but is duly understood by all interested parties and witnesses. I reserve for myself all the legal and economical power over the family traditionally vested into my position, but no more than that over these persons in particular, thereby permanently revoking a tradition which, again, shall not be specified and is understood by all interested parties. I also specifically renounce every and any identical or similar claims over the person of Yuki Sohma, whom it seems though not specifically related to Kyo would be particularly susceptible to such claims._

_ At the request of Master__ Kyo Sohma_

_ In the name of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito etc, etc, etc_

_ The undersigned__"_

Followed, of course, the official seal and the signatures of the notary himself, Akito -not to be confused with Akihito-, Kyo, and, in quality of witnesses of all those present at the fight, as well as Kagura and Hatsuharu, who Kyo had somehow managed to have allowed into the precinct after the fight was over.

Yuki, at first, was much perplexed:

"What does this mean?" he said, not taking his eyes off the paper.

"It's the imprisonment sentence, Yuki," said Kyo "That's what they're talking about. That's what I asked Akito: I asked him that nobody would ever have to be imprisoned the way the Cat had been up until now. And that includes, you Yuki."

Yuki's eyes opened wide:

"So you mean…"

"Yes, Yuki," said Kyo "You're free."

"But…how did you get Akito to sign this? And how do you know he won't…

"Don't worry… Everyone's witness, he can't turn back. 'Course, what he was doing before wasn't exactly legal either, and my method's weren't exactly foolproof, but if he wanted to double-cross me he would've already done it. Obviously, I didn't tell him the real reason I wanted to ban the imprisonment punishment either… I just told him it was to go down in history as the one Cat who lifted the curse."

"What do you mean?"

" It'll make a good bedtime story for my grandkids, don't you think? I said that you had to be included just because I was suspicious. I think he bought it, but if he didn't, well… his problem!"

Kyo was being remarkably effusive; in his own clumsy way of course, but nonetheless remarkably effusive. Yet a question still bugged Yuki's mind, and though he thought he knew the answer, he dared not hope again.

"No, no, Kyo… I mean… what was the real reason you decided to have the imprisonment sentence lifted?"

At this, Kyo looked up. First of all, he was surprised, but then, he blushed a bit, and looked to the ground frowning his brow again.

"Come on, Yuki," he said in a low voice "Isn't it obvious?"

Yuki didn't answer. So Kyo plucked up all his courage –he had plenty of that in battle, but when affairs of the heart came along, he was a real sucker- and began:

"You've been real nice to me, Yuki," he said "I don't think anyone's ever been so nice to me, not even Kazuma. You were ready to sacrifice yourself head on for me time after time, you _did _sacrifice yourself at the fight, and all I ever did was be mean and nasty. And I know what it's like to be treated like you're not worth anything, and I shouldn't have done that, ever… especially to a boy like you."

Here, Kyo paused a bit before he went on.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry," he said "I'm really, really sorry; I don't deserve what you did for me. And also…"

But here he stopped. Yuki's heart was pulsating wildly, waiting for the rest of it, but Kyo had stopped:

"Also what, Kyo?" said Yuki, not being able to control himself, instinctively moving in closer to the other boy, stretching his hand out to touch him but at the last moment stopping right beside Kyo's face.

"I…" Kyo said uneasily "I… I…"

But then, he was filled all of a sudden with that foolhardy courage of his, which had so often served his hate that it was high time it atoned by serving a noble sentiment. And with virile determination and puerile excitement combined, Kyo clasped Yuki's hand between his. Shivers went down Yuki's spin as he felt the touch of Kyo's skin like he'd never felt it before, and he thought he was outside his own body.

Then, with all his heart and valour, Kyo leaned in closer, and managed to whisper.

"I love you Yuki."

And after that, the way a gallant knight would do, he placed a kiss on Yuki's hand.


	22. Chapter 22

_A.N. I don't know what to say... The story's almost over, there's this chapter and the epilogue left, so I thought I'd put in one of these author notes everyone writes. Thank you all so much for reading this far, and for reviewing -you know who you are-, and for making this story my most read and most reviewed work hitherto. Our boys finally look like they're getting there, I'm really kind of moved; so again, thank you..._

_And don't forget to stick around for the epilogue!_

_

* * *

_

_"I love you Yuki."_

For a moment, the Rat thought he'd heard wrong. But Kyo repeated:

"I love you," he said "I love you, I'm sorry, and I love you. I... I know it's a bit shameless of me to tell you like this, but I didn't know it all this time. I... it sounds stupid, but I thought I hated you, I though all I wanted to do was to defeat you. But when you treated me that way, when I realised everything you were ready to do for me, my world turned upside down, and I realised that hatred can be cured. My whole life all I'd ever looked for was hate and all I ever needed was love. And you were the one that gave me love, even if I didn't know I wanted it, and even if I threw it back in your face like an ungrateful bastard. You were the better than me and I envied you; now, you're better than me and I'm proud that I love you. I know I'm not perfect, and I know I hurt you a lot, but I hope your heart will be bigger than mine and accept my confession better than I accepted yours. I love you, Yuki."

Yuki was speechless. He heart was racing, and he could barely breathe. Kyo had just confessed his love to him, and it was as if his most implausible and greatest dream had come true. No, it was not as if. His most cherished dream _had _come true.

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but he didn't know what to say. Kyo loved him! Kyo loved him, what could he possibly have to answer to that? All was forgiven, all was forgotten, and now that Kyo loved him, and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Then, as he stood there, Kyo leaned in. And, like a good fighter taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, Kyo put his arms around Yuki's waist, and kissed him on the mouth.

There was no time to speak.

It was like heaven. And if he'd been frozen thitherto with surprise, as he felt Kyo's lips and tongue, all the sweeter for their harshness, against his own kissing him lovingly, he instantly melted. It was like choirs of angels singing. And Yuki let himself go; finally, after all these years, he truly, really, let himself go. Now, he would remember his garden for something else.

And as he hugged Kyo and felt Kyo hug him, Yuki knew that, whatever happened, he would have someone by his side. He could now be sure that he wouldn't be alone anymore. And Kyo, for his part, knew as he kissed Yuki and felt Yuki kiss him, that he could finally be at peace with someone and with himself. And as they ended the kiss and looked into each other's eyes, both boys knew for certain that, no matter what happened, from now on, they would have someone to love and be loved by, and that though they'd been cursed and suffered so much, at least in their hearts theirs would no longer be a cursed love.

**THE END**


	23. Epilogue

A few months later, Kyo came back from England; he'd left for England a few days after the match: the flight hadn't been cancelled, and Akito had already tended to having him enrolled, even if all this had been mostly forgotten due to the strain of much more important events. Of course, at first Kyo would have nothing of it, and insisted he would stay for "personal reasons" –no-one had learned of what had gone on between him and the Rat in the garden-, but Yuki then told him personally that he should go, and that he didn't want to be the cause of Kyo missing out on such a good opportunity, and that it was very important not to raise even more suspicions, so that after much insisting, he finally managed to convince the Cat to leave. It is fitting to mention that the night before the two boys had a very, very long talk about many things of little importance, and they learned things about each other which neither would have known or cared about did they not share this bond which they were just beginning to discover. They also had a very intense make-out session, though they only got to kissing and cuddling, because they didn't want to go further on such short notice and just before the departure too.

Surprisingly enough Kyo's stay in England did them more good than anyone might have imagined. Kyo forged a great many friendships on that far-off island, and Yuki began to forge friendships on their own, Japanese island, both of which were accomplishments for the respective boys. But more importantly, they had had the incomparable gain of keeping their love young. To be specific, they never went through that part of a relationship where the passion wears out: for as the reader sees, Kyo and Yuki, right after the mutual confession and at the very zenith of both their passion, had their relationship cut short. And if the decision of parting had been a painful, yet as each one went his separate way, as they knew that they would surely be together again, they both kept a glowing, warm memory in their hearts which as the days and months passed only grew in sweetness, and a wonderful sweetness at that which would leak out on a daily basis, and constantly make their lives just a bit happier while it waited to burst out when they finally met again.

It was as if the flower of their love had been cut just as it bloomed; only that after that, it had not withered as natural, but, as if treated by some great witch or sage, or as if effected by the miracle of a Saint, it had been set into a perpetual state of eternal blossoming.

So understandably, when Kyo came back, he was very impatient as he got his luggage and tried to find his way out of the airport, hoping, no, rather, expecting that Yuki would be there waiting for him.

And sure enough, as he got out of the terminal, he discerned amongst the crowd of people waiting for the passengers that familiar face which in his heart had in alteration born both hate and love. Then, Yuki found him, and Kyo's tired eyes met those of the Rat. At first, they said nothing; they didn't run to each other, they didn't kiss, they didn't do anything dramatic, they didn't even shake hands!

They only smiled.

But Kyo's smile was so sweet, and Yuki's so sincere that it was visible that their love had brought such changes in their hearts that no-one could doubt it was there to stay.

Besides there were a lot of people around, not to mention quite a few of their relatives.

Yet on the ride home, they sat next to each other, and as the conversation died down –this usually happens when one arrives from a trip, at first there is much enthusiasm but then the weariness of the journey takes over-, Kyo's eyes fell on Yuki's hand: that same white hand he'd kissed all those months ago after his confession. And though he didn't know then if was because Yuki had seen him look, or by an wholly independent impulse on the Rat's part, yet Yuki slowly moved his hand towards Kyo; and in response, Kyo moved his hand towards Yuki's; and they touched.

Then the feeling of each other's skin, even in this tiny proportion, after all those months sent something akin to electric current down the two boys' spines. Instinctively, or rather, pushed by their mutual affection, each boy immediately turned his head to the other. And when their eyes met, their hearts were flooded by all feelings of love, which have been expounded so extensively in this text and described better in other far superior works that they will not be further dwelt upon. Words are superfluous, and only a narration of the following even is enough to describe exactly what was going on in their souls:

After nothing more than a quick scan to see that everyone around them was looking the other way -their mutual understanding was such that they didn't need to speak and their passion so strong that they couldn't wait long enough to do so- the two boys, ignoring their location and spurred on only by the sight of each other's eyes leaned in and their lips joined in a sweet kiss of lovers reunited.

"I love you, Yuki," Kyo then said.

"I love you too, Kyo," Yuki answered.

These words were whispered, and nobody heard them, yet to Kyo and Yuki it was as if they had shouted them out to the entire world.

But sadly now the time has come to end this tale: the two lovers are together, and, to use a nautical metaphor, the ship is in port and all the storm clouds have been chased from the sky, so that there is no need to continue the story.

And thus, having accompanied our boys through the trials and tribulations of an accursed passion, we must now leave them on the steady road of sweet and tender engagement. And having brought them all this way, it is proper that we now graciously give them the intimacy they need to enjoy the sweet if hard-earned reward of all their now-departed sorrows and to finally live out their happy love.

**END OF THE STORY**


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